Christmas at Hogwarts
by cleotheo
Summary: A ferocious storm forces Dumbledore to shut Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays. However, in their haste to leave the Professors end up leaving a small handful of students behind. How will three Gryffindors and three Slytherins cope with spending Christmas at Hogwarts? Fun, festive story.
1. Leaving Hogwarts

**A/N – Welcome to my first festive multi-chapter story. Christmas at Hogwarts has 10 chapters in total, and it'll all be posted before Christmas. ****I plan on updating on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I've rated it M for a brief scene in chapter 6. It probably isn't enough to warrant the rating, but I would rather be safe and avoid someone reporting the story if it's a lower rating. **

**I just want to say that this story is fun and light-hearted. In this universe, Voldemort was defeated when Harry was a baby, meaning he hasn't been around to influence certain things.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Leaving Hogwarts.**

Hogsmeade station was a hive of activity as Professor Albus Dumbledore and his staff hurried the students onto the Hogwarts Express. As they did so the snow kept getting heavier and the wind began picking up.

"Professor Dumbledore, we need to go now," The train driver shouted from the window of the engine room. "The storm's getting worse, if we don't leave now we'll be stuck."

"We're done," Dumbledore shouted back, before turning to the only other remaining Professors on the platform. "Minerva, Severus, get aboard."

Quickly checking they hadn't left a student on the platform the three Professors climbed about the train. The second they boarded the train began pulling out of the station and barrelling towards London.

"I hope we didn't leave anyone," Minerva McGonagall sighed, brushing snow from her hat. "We left in such a rush."

For the first time since it had opened Hogwarts was closing for the Christmas break. Normally the school remained open over the holidays, but there was a severe storm heading in the school's direction so Dumbledore and his staff had taken the decision to shut the school. Unfortunately the storm had moved in slightly quicker than was anticipated and earlier that morning a decision was made to leave school an hour sooner than originally planned. The last minute change of plans had made things slightly more hectic, but Dumbledore was convinced everything had gone well.

"We double checked the common rooms and they were all empty," Dumbledore said. "I'm sure everyone's on board."

"I hope so," McGonagall muttered, looking out of the window at the raging storm.

"I'm sure of it," Dumbledore reassured his deputy head. "Now let's go and grab a nice cup of tea. It's been years since I've ridden the Hogwarts Express and I'm quite looking forward to it."

A beaming Dumbledore turned and began walking down the train, heading for the far compartments that had been reserved for the staff. McGonagall and a grumpy looking Severus Snape followed the Headmaster along the corridor. Neither McGonagall nor Snape were particularly looking forward to travelling with the students and both were eager to reach the privacy of their compartment.

Arriving in one of the staff compartments Snape pulled the door closed behind them as the trio settled down for the rest of the journey, which would hopefully be a peaceful one.

* * *

**OOO**

* * *

Fifteen minutes after leaving Hogsmeade, Ginny Weasley was prowling the train in search of her brother, Ron Weasley, her boyfriend, Harry Potter and their best friend, the Head Girl Hermione Granger. Back in the common room Harry and Ron had left to tell Hermione the change of plans and had promised Ginny they would meet her on the train. Initially Ginny figured the trio would try and find her but when they hadn't arrived after ten minutes she had set out in search of them.

After ten minutes of searching up and down the train, Ginny conceded defeat and headed back to the carriage she had initially come from. Ginny had been sitting with a few other Gryffindors in Harry and Ron's year and a Ravenclaw in hers.

"Any luck?" Neville Longbottom asked upon Ginny's return.

"No sign." Ginny shook her head. "I don't think they're on the train."

"They have to be on the train," Dean Thomas said.

"Yeah, Dumbledore wouldn't leave them behind," Seamus Finnegan added.

"I'm telling you, they're not here," Ginny insisted. "I've been up and down this train and Harry, Ron and Hermione aren't on board."

"Maybe we should all have a look," Suggested Luna Lovegood, the Ravenclaw from Ginny's year.

"What happens if Ginny's right and they're not here?" Neville asked.

"We go and tell Dumbledore," Ginny said. "The Professors are all on the train."

"Come on then, let's get searching," Dean said as he and Seamus stood up. "Why don't us boys go one way, you girls go the other and we'll meet back here when we're done."

Satisfied with the plan the group split into two and conducted another search of the train. When they returned to the compartment they all agreed that Harry, Ron and Hermione were missing. Instead of everyone going to inform Dumbledore of the problem, Ginny went alone while the others waited behind for news.

Arriving at the first of the teacher's compartments, Ginny knocked on the frosted glass of the door and waited for an answer. When the door opened Ginny was confronted with the one professor she didn't really wish to deal with, the formidable Head of Slytherin, Professor Snape.

"What is it Miss Weasley?" Snape snapped, unimpressed to be disturbed.

"I need to speak to Professor Dumbledore," Ginny replied. "It's an emergency."

"I'm sure whatever it is can wait until after the New Year," Snape retorted as he began to shut the door in Ginny's face.

"Harry, Ron and Hermione aren't on the train," Ginny blurted, stopping Snape in his tracks.

"What do you mean they're not on the train?" Snape asked, re-opening the door fully. "Are you saying they're still in school?"

"I don't know where they are," Ginny sighed.

"You better come in and explain yourself," Snape said, gesturing for Ginny to enter the compartment.

Ginny entered the compartment full of Professors and stood there awkwardly as Snape explained what she had just told him. Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout all looked aghast at the news and Professor McGonagall muttered something under her breath that Ginny didn't quite catch.

"When was the last time you saw Harry, Ron and Hermione?" Dumbledore asked.

"Harry and Ron were in the common room when the word came that we were to leave for the coaches immediately. They were worried about Hermione not knowing about the change so they rushed off to the head dorms to get her," Ginny explained. "They promised to meet us on the train, but they never appeared. We've searched the train and they're not here."

"Oh dear, it looks as though we've got a bit of a situation on our hands," Dumbledore remarked.

"You don't say," Snape muttered sarcastically. "I'd say it's more like a crisis. We've left three students behind."

Before Snape could say more on the subject there was another knocking on the door. Once again Snape answered the door and this time he opened it to reveal a worried looking Pansy Parkinson. After a few words with the Slytherin girl he let her into the already crowded compartment.

"It's definitely a crisis now," Snape remarked. "We've now left six students behind."

"Dear Merlin, this is a disaster," McGonagall sighed.

"Who else is missing?" Dumbledore asked, looking at Pansy.

"Draco, Blaise and Theo are all missing," Pansy replied.

She then proceeded to tell a story almost identical to Ginny's. When the word came round about the train departure time being moved Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott had headed off to inform the Head Boy, Draco Malfoy of the change. Like with Harry and Ron they had promised Pansy to meet her on the train, but they had also failed to show. Like the Gryffindors the Slytherins had launched a search for their missing friends and like the Gryffindors they had come up empty handed.

"What happened in the head dorms?" McGonagall mused. Considering the head students were missing and the other students had been going to the head dorms it made sense that something had happened to delay the six seventh years.

"Who knows?" Dumbledore shrugged. "But I think we can at least say they're safe back in school."

"When can we go and get them?" Pansy asked. "Are we turning the train round?"

"I'm afraid that's impossible," Dumbledore answered. "Hogwarts will be engulfed by the storm now and I'm afraid until it passes the school is inaccessible."

"What about everyone stuck there?" Ginny gasped. "How will they survive?"

"Don't be so dramatic, Miss Weasley," Snape tutted at the redhead. "They'll all be perfectly fine in the school. They'll just have to fend for themselves for a few weeks."

"Professor Snape is right. As awful as it sounds there's nothing we can do," Dumbledore explained to the two girls. "Once we're back at London I can explain things to their parents, but for now I suggest you two run along back to your compartments."

Reluctantly Pansy and Ginny left the compartment of Professors. Turning in opposite directions they each headed back to their friends to fill them in on what was happening. Meanwhile in the compartment they had just left the Professors were discussing how they were going to explain leaving six students behind.

* * *

**OOO**

* * *

When the Hogwarts Express pulled into King's Cross Station, Dumbledore sent McGonagall to find the parents of the Gryffindors left behind, while Snape was sent off in search of the Slytherin parents. McGonagall was the first to return with Molly and Arthur Weasley, alongside Ginny who had already spoken with her parents.

"Albus, what are you doing about this?" Arthur asked as they reached the headmaster.

"If you don't mind waiting for the other parents, we can discuss this all in a group," Dumbledore replied. "Speaking of which, aren't the Granger's here?"

"Hermione was due to come to us for Christmas," Molly replied. "Her parents had already booked a holiday as Hermione was originally planning on staying at school. Because of the late change of plans her parents couldn't get a refund so it was decided that she was coming to us."

Dumbledore nodded, relieved that he was at least one set of parents down. Although now the Weasleys were missing three of their charges, not just two, they might get a bit prickly. However, before Dumbledore had a chance to worry further Snape appeared with two couples, the Malfoys and the Notts. Snape quickly explained to Dumbledore that Blaise was spending the holidays with the Malfoys, which was why his mother wasn't there.

"Would you care to explain what's going on?" Lucius Malfoy asked, not bothering with greetings. "Why is my son still at school?"

"We're not entirely sure what happened, but it would appear six students were left behind accidentally," Dumbledore told the three sets of parents. "As you know a storm is currently present up at Hogwarts and the school is impossible to get to."

"What are you going to do?" Molly asked. "You can't leave the six of them stranded there."

"I'm afraid, there's nothing we can do," Dumbledore admitted. "I assure you they will be perfectly safe, the school is warm and the kitchens will be fully stocked."

"That's it?" Lucius scoffed at the old wizard. "You've left our children, and all you can say is that they'll be fine."

"I'm afraid at this stage, there's little else I can do Lucius," Dumbledore replied. "I'm planning on using the portraits to try and get in touch with them, and reassure them that we're aware of their predicament. And I promise the second it's safe to get back up to Hogwarts someone will go and escort them back home."

"Why can't you just floo to the school?" Narcissa Malfoy demanded. Draco was her only son as she wasn't happy that he wouldn't be home for the holidays.

"We locked down all the floo networks before we left," McGonagall admitted.

"Plus the storm is interfering with the connections," Snape added. "To be honest it's really not safe to be using the floo networks in stormy areas."

"Severus is right," Lucius told his wife. "My uncle one tried using the floo in the middle of a snow storm and he ended up in three parts. He spent a year in St Mungo's recovering and his right hand still occasionally goes missing when he travels by floo."

"I suppose that's that then," Narcissa sighed. "This will be a terrible Christmas."

"I'm sure we can cope, Cissa," Lucius said, wrapping his arm around his wife. "We can find plenty of ways to celebrate just the two of us." He whispered in her ear, so only she could hear the innuendo in his words.

"I'll keep everyone informed of what's happening," Dumbledore announced. "And as I said, I'll try and get word to them so they know we're coming for them. Now I suggest we all head home before we end up stuck here. The storms moving south and I heard the whole country would be under a blanket of snow by the morning."

Muttering about the incompetence of Dumbledore and his staff the Malfoys and Notts left the group before apparating away. The Weasleys stayed a few minutes longer, before they also apparated away. Snape and McGonagall soon followed, until only Dumbledore was left on the platform. Sighing at the mess he had to solve Dumbledore also dissapparated with a crack, wondering when they would be able to reach the six stranded students.


	2. Left Behind

**Left Behind.**

**_Earlier That Morning._**

In the Gryffindor common room Harry, Ron and Ginny sat beside the fire as Dean and Seamus kept them updated about the weather. The two boys were sitting by the window and informing the whole tower of the rapidly worsening weather.

"The snow's getting heavier," Dean announced.

"At this rate we'll be lucky to leave," Seamus said. "If it keeps up like this the Hogwarts Express will be stuck by eleven."

It was currently half past nine and the Hogwarts Express was due to leave at eleven. The luggage had already gone down to the train and the carriages started heading down in little over half an hour. Harry, Ron and their friends however would be one of the later carriages as the younger students were leaving first. Plus their best friend Hermione wasn't due to arrive at Gryffindor Tower for another hour.

As the group began debating their chances of getting home for Christmas, Professor McGonagall swept into the room and called for silence.

"Because of the worsening storm, the Hogwarts Express will leave at ten," She announced. "I want you all to make your way downstairs and begin boarding the carriages."

Since everyone had their bags already with them, McGonagall was able to begin shepherding the students out of Gryffindor Tower immediately. Harry, Ron and Ginny were caught in the middle of the crowd departing the tower.

"What about Hermione?" Ron asked, as they left Gryffindor Tower.

"I'm sure Dumbledore would have sent the same message to the head dorms," Ginny said. "We'll meet her on the train."

"Maybe Harry and I should go and check, just in case," Ron suggested. "She wasn't due to meet us for another hour, what if she's not ready."

"Make sure you don't end up missing the train," Ginny warned the two boys.

"We won't," Harry reassured his girlfriend with a smile. "Save us a seat and we'll meet you on the train."

As Ginny carried on downstairs with the other Gryffindors, Harry and Ron fought their way through the crowds. Emerging from the packed crowd, the two boys took off sprinting in the direction of the head dorms. The head dorms were on the fifth floor but it was easier to find a staircase that wasn't packed with students, rather than carrying on with the others and trying to get off at the right floor. Finally finding the staircase they wanted Harry and Ron flew down a couple of flights of stairs and headed in the direction of the head dorms.

Just as they reached the portrait that signalled the entrance to the head dorms they found themselves face to face with two Slytherins, Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott. Gryffindors and Slytherins didn't really get along so neither Harry or Ron were pleased to see Theo and Blaise.

"What are you doing here?" Ron snapped.

"We've come to make sure Draco knows about the change of plan," Theo replied.

"I'm guessing that's why you're here as well," Blaise added.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, do you know the password to the dorm?"

"Bluebottle," Theo said, causing the portrait to open up.

Racing into the head dorms the four boys looked around for any sign of their friends. Sitting on the sofa were two bags, one belonging to Draco and one belonging to Hermione, although there was no sign of the two owners.

"Maybe they're still in bed," Blaise suggested with a shrug. "Draco wasn't due to meet us for nearly an hour."

"Same as Hermione," Harry said.

Turning towards the stairs the four boys began to climb up them, wondering why their friends weren't up yet. Halfway up the stairs they heard a feminine moan, giving a fair indication as to why the Head students hadn't yet arisen. Blaise and Theo shared a smirk, knowing what they were about to find, but Harry and Ron just looked confused.

"Was that Hermione?" Ron asked his friend.

"I think so," Harry replied.

"She sounded ill," Ron said, quickening his pace. "Come on, we need to check she's alright."

Blaise and Theo let the two Gryffindors charge ahead, but they made sure to keep close behind them. Their reaction to what was happening upstairs was about to be fun and they didn't want to miss anything.

"Which room?" Ron asked, coming to a standstill. In front of him was three closed doors and since he had never been upstairs in the head dorms he had no idea which room was Hermione's.

As if on cue another loud moan sounded from the room to the left of the four boys. As they approached the room a deeper moaning could be heard and a rhythmical banging noise was also faintly audible. Harry and Ron shared another confused look while Blaise and Theo had to bite their lips in order to stop themselves laughing at the dense duo. They still seemed to have no idea what they were about to walk in on. As the moaning continued to get louder and more frequent Ron pushed open the door, with Harry right beside him. The two boys gaped at the sight in front of them, while Theo and Blaise angled themselves for a good view of the action.

On the green sheets of the bed lay a naked Hermione and Draco, their lower halves covered be a silk sheet. Hermione's eyes were shut and her head thrown back against the pillow, while Draco had his head buried in Hermione's neck and his hand was fondling Hermione's bare breast. Despite the sheet covering their lower extremities from the movements and noises it was very clear to everyone what the two head students were actually doing. The couple however had failed to spot the intrusion as they carried on with their morning activities.

Blaise and Theo waited for Harry and Ron to say something, but when the two Gryffindors just carried on watching the couple in shock, Theo decided to make his friend aware he had company. Theo casually cleared his throat, causing the couple on the bed to freeze and their heads to shoot round to see who had disturbed them.

Hermione squealed slightly at the sight of four boys staring at her half naked body as she hurriedly grabbed the covers and pulled them up to her neck. Draco meanwhile growled at the interruption as he rolled off Hermione and sat glaring at the four unwanted intruders.

"What the hell are your four doing?" Draco snarled. He was fuming that the four of them had just seen Hermione topless, especially Weasley whose eyes were still focused on his girlfriend's chest despite it now being covered.

"What are we doing? We should be asking you that," Ron replied angrily, tearing his eyes away from Hermione.

"I thought it was obvious what they were doing," Theo remarked, sniggering along with Blaise as Harry and Ron turned to glare at them.

"We could see what they were doing," Harry muttered, the sight he'd just witnessed still etched on his mind. "The question is why?"

"It's what men and woman tend to do, Potter," Draco drawled. "I know you don't have any experience of it, but I'm sure you will in time."

"That's not what we meant," Ron snapped at the blond, before turning to Hermione. "Hermione, what are you doing shagging Malfoy?"

"I didn't want you to find out this way," Hermione sighed. "Draco and I are together. We were going to tell everyone after the New Year."

"Together as in boyfriend and girlfriend?" Ron asked, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the thought.

"Yes." Hermione nodded as her hand reached out to grab Draco's.

"How long?" Harry asked, looking at the pair's intertwined hands.

"Since the beginning of the year," Hermione answered. "Although our first kiss was actually last year, but we were just too stubborn to admit we liked each other back then."

"Granger was the mystery witch you moped over all summer?" Blaise questioned.

"You moped over me?" Hermione turned to look at her boyfriend, who had turned slightly red.

"I didn't mope. I was brooding," Draco argued.

"Mope, brood, same thing." Theo waved his hand dismissively. "All we know was that you were bloody miserable, always banging on about this amazing girl you'd missed your chance with."

"Luckily I hadn't missed my chance," Draco said with a smile.

"Yeah, luckily we had to share a dorm and you couldn't last a week without kissing me again," Hermione teased.

Forgetting they had an audience she leant up and pressed her lips against Draco's. Draco eagerly responded to the kiss and as his hand slipped under the sheets, causing Hermione to whimper slightly, Blaise coughed to get the couple's attention.

"As much fun as it is watching you two go at each other, we have more important matters to discuss," Blaise said.

"Sorry," Draco said, removing his hand away from temptation.

"Anyway, why are you four here?" Hermione questioned, suddenly remembering they still didn't know why their friends were in the room.

"Shit, the train," Theo swore, running towards the window.

"What about the train?" Draco asked. "It doesn't leave to eleven, it's barely ten."

"The train leaves at ten," Harry said. "The storms getting worse so we have to leave early."

"Bloody hell, why didn't you say so earlier," Draco exclaimed, jumping out of bed totally oblivious to the fact he was still naked. "Quick get dressed, Hermione. We can still make the train."

"I don't think we can," Theo announced, peering out of the window. It was hard to see with all the snow, but he was fairly certain he could see the train moving in the distance, not to mention he could hear its whistle blowing.

"Bollocks," Draco yelled, joining Theo at the window.

"Speaking of bollocks, put some clothes on Draco," Blaise said, tutting at his friend. He, Theo and Hermione seemed totally fine with Draco's nakedness but Harry and Ron were clearly uncomfortable and they both now had their eyes firmly shut.

"What are we going to do now?" Theo asked as Draco pulled on his boxers and trousers, quickly followed by his shirt.

"First of all you're all going to leave so I can get dressed." Hermione announced. "Then we're going to approach this like rational adults and find a solution to our problems."

Draco shooed the four boys out of his room and he followed them downstairs as they left Hermione to get dressed. By the time Hermione entered the common room ten minutes later, a full scale argument was taking place as to who was to blame that they missed the train. Draco was blaming everyone, claiming they should have gotten to the point of their visit earlier, while everyone else was blaming Draco and Hermione for still being in bed.

"Enough," Hermione shouted, grabbing the attention of the five bickering boys. "We're all to blame for this mess. You four should have told us what was happening immediately, but Draco and I really should have being up instead of getting carried away."

"I suppose it's natural to want to sneak in one last quickie before you were separated for the holidays," Blaise remarked.

"Hey, I don't do quickies," Draco protested. "I've got plenty of stamina, I can last for longer than a quickie. That was our third time this morning. Tell him Hermione."

"Shut up, Draco," Hermione hissed at her boyfriend, shooting him a dangerous look.

"Sorry, babe." Draco winced, realising he had just shared too much.

"Okay, enough of the details," Harry grimaced. "What we saw was enough to last us a life time, we don't need to hear things as well."

"Maybe we should go and see if there's anyone around to help us," Theo suggested.

"I doubt it," Hermione shrugged. "Professor Dumbledore and all the other Professors were going home for the holidays as well."

"Yeah, even Hagrid was heading to France to visit Madame Maxime," Harry said.

"So if there's no-one here, what are we going to do?" Ron asked, sounding panicky.

"First we need to double check we are alone. If they left us behind, there may be others somewhere else," Draco said, taking charge along with Hermione. They were the head students so if there were no Professors then they were top dogs.

"We also need to see if the school's secure," Hermione told the others. "If we can't get out, we might be able to get to a fireplace somewhere and floo for help. Then there's the portraits, several of them have second portraits outside of the castle, they might be able to help us."

"I suggest we split up," Draco said. "Blaise, Theo you check the doors and search the lower floors. Potter and Weasley, you search the upper floors."

"And what are you and Hermione going to be doing?" Ron asked, looking at the couple as though they were just waiting for an opportunity to restart what they were doing before.

"Hermione and I will be trying to find a way of contacting the outside world," Draco told the redhead.

"Come on Ron, let's go," Harry said, pulling on his friends arm. "Hermione, we need to talk later."

Hermione nodded as the three groups went their separate ways. Dealing with Harry and Ron and their reaction to her relationship with Draco hadn't been part of her holiday plans, but then again neither had been stuck at school.


	3. Making Plans

**Making Plans.**

Hermione walked through the deserted corridors of Hogwarts, holding onto Draco's hand. They had tried every Professor's office and found them all locked up, just like they had expected. As head students they knew of Dumbledore's plan to send everyone home, so they had immediately known how alone they really were and how hard it would be contacting the outside world. Even heading to Hogsmeade for help was out as if by some miracle they found an unlocked door the storm was far too fierce to go out in. Several times Hermione and Draco had stopped and watched the worsening storm out the window. In fact it was now getting so bad they were beginning to wonder how far the Hogwarts Express had gotten, with this weather it was a very real possibility that the train could be stuck somewhere.

"I think we should just head back to the head dorms," Draco suggested. "It looks like we're alone for the foreseeable future."

"Great," Hermione muttered. "Stuck with Harry and Ron and explaining out relationship to them."

"We were going to do it in the New Year anyway," Draco shrugged, failing to see the problem.

To be honest he wasn't totally sure why Hermione was so worried about her friends and their reaction to their relationship. While he may never had gotten on particularly well with either Potter or Weasley he saw no reason why that should affect his relationship with Hermione. Surely if the two Gryffindors were the good friends they claimed to be they would just be pleased that Hermione was happy, and Draco knew he made Hermione happy.

"That would have been different," Hermione argued. "I was going to sit them down and explain the situation before they saw us together. And even then the most they would have seen would have been the odd kiss, they were never meant to see us in bed."

"Okay, I admit it wasn't the best way for them to find out about us," Draco conceded. "But look on the bright side, at least we now get to spend Christmas together."

"True," Hermione said. "I suppose there's that."

"The only down side is having four more people around," Draco said as they entered the head dorms. "Although we may be lucky and they might spend all of their time in their own common rooms, giving us plenty of space."

Draco's hopes of a peaceful Christmas with Hermione were shattered five minutes later when Harry and Ron returned to the head dorms complaining that they were locked out of Gryffindor Tower. Apparently the password wasn't working and The Fat Lady refused to admit them to the common room, despite knowing they were Gryffindors.

When Blaise and Theo returned five minutes after the Gryffindors they had the same problem, they couldn't gain access to the Slytherin common room despite having the password. They also confirmed that every entrance to the school was locked up and that they were stuck. However, there was a bit of brighter news from the Slytherins, the kitchen was fully stocked with food.

"Well at least we won't starve," Ron remarked once they had all taken it in turns to explain their lack of progress with finding help.

"I don't know about that," Blaise said. "There might have been a kitchen full of food, but there were no elves."

"Why are there no elves?" Ron demanded. "How are we supposed to eat without elves?"

"It might be a shocking concept Ronald, but maybe you should try looking after yourself," Hermione told her friend.

"But I can't cook," Ron argued.

"Neither can I," Theo admitted.

"Nor me," Blaise added.

"I can cook a bit," Harry said.

"Problem solved, Potter you're the chef until we're rescued," Draco announced.

"Hey, I said I can cook a bit," Harry protested, glaring at the blond. "I'm not cooking for everyone."

"Well someone has to feed us," Ron grumbled. "I'm starving already."

"We'll take it in turns to do the cooking," Hermione said. "And there'll be no exceptions."

"You do know you've likely just sentenced a few of us to food poisoning," Draco said to his girlfriend. "You're expecting three spoilt Slytherins and the disaster that is Weasley to feed us. That's just asking for trouble. At least you and Potter know a bit about cooking and could probably manage not to poison us all."

"I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Malfoy," Ron declared. "It makes sense that you two do the cooking, since you're the only ones who know what you're doing."

"No." Hermione shook her head. "I'm not catering to four spoilt brats. If you want to eat, you pitch in and do your share of the work."

"I'm with Hermione on this one," Harry said. "I don't mind doing my share, but I'm not cooking all the time."

"Food poisoning, here we come," Theo laughed.

"You lot do realise you have magic, don't you?" Hermione asked, looking disbelievingly at the grumbling foursome. "You'll be able to do most things using magic."

"We knew that," Blaise said sheepishly, even though he had totally forgotten how much help magic would be in doing things they were unfamiliar with.

"Well now that's sorted, I suggest a couple of people pop down to the kitchen and bring back a few basic supplies," Hermione said. "It'll be easier to use the small kitchen up here, then constantly having to trail up and down the stairs."

"Blaise and I will go," Theo offered. "But we are going to need someone who knows what we need to bring back."

"I'll come with yo,." Harry said as the trio rose from their seats.

Suddenly realising he was about to be left alone with Hermione and Draco, Ron quickly hopped up from his seat. "I'll come as well. More hands means we can bring back more stuff."

Hermione watched the four boys leave, before turning around and heading upstairs. Curious as to what his girlfriend was doing, Draco followed her and found Hermione in her room throwing a pile of clothes on the bed and charming various drawers and cupboards shut.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked, watching as Hermione dumped a pile of underwear onto her bed before sealing her underwear drawer.

"Grabbing a few things so I can stay in your room," Hermione explained. "If the others can't get into their dorm rooms they'll have to stay here. I'm not sharing a room with anyone but you, and I'm not having people snooping around my things."

"All four of them won't fit in your room," Draco pointed out as he helped Hermione move her clothes into his room.

"I know, but two can share my bed and two will have to sleep in the common room," Hermione replied. "When they come back we can tell then what's happening and let the four of them sort things out for themselves."

"That should be fun," Draco laughed.

Hermione smiled slightly at the thought of her friends and Draco's bickering over her bed as she put her clothes away in Draco's room. Once everything was sorted upstairs they headed back to the common room where Hermione checked what they had in the small kitchen area. Finding the stuff to make sandwiches she made a large plateful for lunch and placed it on the coffee table, seconds before the other's arrived back.

"Cool, food." Ron eyed the sandwiches hungrily as they sorted everything for the kitchen.

Once Hermione was satisfied with what they had brought up from the kitchens she produced a large jug of pumpkin juice from the fridge and everyone settled down to eat. After the plate of sandwiches were gone, Hermione quickly tidied up before returning to the common room and curling up next to Draco.

"While you were gone Draco and I have been discussing sleeping arrangements," Hermione announced. "Obviously if you can't get into your own dorms, you'll have to stay here."

"Where will we sleep?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I don't want to sleep on the floor," Ron groaned.

"You won't have to," Draco replied. "Two of you can share Hermione's bed and the other two will have to sleep on the two sofas down here."

"If two of us are in Hermione's bed, where will she sleep?" Ron demanded.

"You can't honestly be that naive, Weasley," Blaise laughed.

"I would have thought after this morning it would be fairly obvious where Granger will be sleeping," Theo said, laughing along with his friend.

"No, you can't," Ron protested. "Hermione, you can't sleep in the same bed as Malfoy."

"Why not? She's been doing it all year," Draco said, smirking when Ron turned a nasty shade of red.

"But we might hear you doing stuff," Harry argued. "We don't need to hear that."

"Then don't listen," Draco shrugged. "Although that might be quite difficult as Hermione is fairly loud."

"Draco!" Hermione hissed, hitting her boyfriend in the arm. "Will you stop telling people private things."

"Sorry, it just kind of slipped out," Draco apologised to his girlfriend.

"Well make sure nothing else slips out, otherwise Harry and Ron won't have to worry about overhearing us as there won't be anything to overhear," Hermione warned, glaring at the blond.

"My lips are sealed," Draco said, somewhat reluctantly. He'd been enjoying winding up Potter and Weasley, but he wasn't risking going without sex for the next few weeks so he would just have to find a subtler way to annoy his girlfriend's friends.

"I still don't like it," Ron huffed. "The pair of you sharing a bed is just wrong."

"Thank you Ronald, but we don't need your opinion," Hermione snapped at her friend. "Mine and Draco's sleeping arrangements aren't up for discussion. We're sleeping how we normally sleep, together."

"I guess we could take it in turns to share the bedroom," Harry sighed, finally returning to the matter in hand. "Maybe come up with a rota of some kind."

"I think it may be too late for that," Draco told the Gryffindor duo. "While you two were arguing about Hermione sharing my bed, Blaise and Theo took off upstairs with their backpacks."

"Bloody sneaks," Ron cried as he and Harry jumped up and went running up the stairs.

Hermione and Draco stayed sitting on the sofa as the battle raged on above their heads. They could hear the four boys arguing and shouting but neither of them made an attempt to go and sort things out. The others were supposedly adults, they could sort out their own sleeping arrangements. After ten minutes of shouting and bickering Harry and Ron slunk back down the stairs with their backpacks.

"They've got the bed," Harry said sulkily. "We're sleeping down here."

"Damn Slytherins," Ron muttered, collapsing onto the sofa next to Harry.

"You've only got yourselves to blame," Draco told the duo. "If you hadn't fussed over where Hermione was sleeping, you might have had a bed tonight."

"You don't need to rub it in, Draco," Hermione scolded her boyfriend. "I'm sure Harry and Ron know their mistake."

"Yeah, our mistake was coming to get you this morning," Ron complained. "Ginny said Dumbledore would have let you know about the change of plans, but we just had to interfere."

"Dumbledore didn't let us know about the change of plans, though," Draco pointed out. "If your four hadn't come to tell us, we wouldn't have known."

"Do you think Dumbledore forgot you guys?" Harry asked.

"It bloody well, looks that way," Draco tutted. "Damn fool. Wait until father hears about this."

Harry and Ron shared an amused look and rolled their eyes at the blond, they'd heard his threat to tell Lucius about things numerous times before. Hermione also shot an amused look at her boyfriend, she knew that in a few hours he would have totally forgotten what he was going to tell Lucius.

Five minutes later Draco was still muttering about Dumbledore when Blaise and Theo came back downstairs. When the Slytherins began gushing about how kind it was for Hermione to let them use her room and how nice it would be to sleep in a bed, Harry and Ron decided to take a walk.

The two Gryffindors were out most of the afternoon and when they returned they had a message from Dumbledore. On their travels one of the portraits had called them over and passed a message on from the Headmaster.

"So basically they know we're here and someone will be here to help us as soon as they can," Harry announced, relaying the message back to the others.

"That could be a while," Draco said, from his position beside the window. "The storms just getting worse all the time."

Everyone else gathered around to look out the window, but all they could see was a mass of white. The storm was so bad even the other parts of the castle weren't visible from the windows.

"It looks like we'll be here for a while," Hermione said, turning away from the window.

Everyone else nodded their agreement as they also turned away from the window. For the foreseeable future they were all stuck together, so it looked like they would have to learn how to get along with one another.


	4. Christmas Preparations

**Christmas Preparations.**

After receiving the message from Dumbledore, Harry and Hermione had made dinner, before everyone settled down for an early night. It was now the following day, and everyone was downstairs as they grabbed some breakfast. Since Hermione had made it clear she wouldn't be catering for everyone, breakfast had turned into a bit of a free for all. Apart from Draco, who had already grabbed himself some toast, the rest of the boys were in the small kitchen creating chaos.

Hermione stood watching Ron and Theo arguing over an individual sized box of cereal, before shaking her head and leaving the small kitchen. Settling down on the sofa beside Draco, she leant her head against his shoulder.

"This is going to be a long holiday," She groaned.

Draco chuckled in agreement, as he listened to the arguments coming from the kitchen. From the sounds of things Blaise was accusing Harry of putting marmalade on the toast he'd made, while Ron and Theo both wanted the same box of cereal and they'd entered a tug of war for it. Even from the common room both Hermione and Draco heard the box split and cereal go tumbling to the floor.

"Now look what you've done," Theo yelled. "You've spilt my cereal."

"You mean my cereal," Ron retorted. "I had that box, until you grabbed it. It was mine."

"For crying out loud," Hermione sighed as she jumped up and went storming into the kitchen. "Will you four behave and get your breakfast."

"My breakfast is all over the floor," Ron grumbled.

"There's more cereal in the cupboard," Hermione replied tightly. "If you want cereal get a fresh box, and someone clean up that mess." Levelling her most steely glare at Theo and Ron, she turned her attention to a bickering Harry and Blaise. "And what are you two fighting about?"

"I made myself two slices of toast, and Potter here spread it with marmalade," Blaise snapped. "I hate marmalade."

"It's my toast," Harry argued. "I made it, left it here and went for the marmalade. Zabini then comes flying over and accuses me of nicking his toast."

"Since the toast is already spread with marmalade, how we about we let Harry have it and Blaise you can make some more," Hermione suggested.

"But it's my toast," Blaise pouted.

"If you want it, have it," Harry huffed, shoving the plate towards the Slytherin. "I'll make some more."

"But I hate marmalade." Blaise grimaced at the sight of the toast spread with the orange conserve. "This toast has marmalade tainting it."

"I have a better solution, I'll have it and you can both make some more." Hermione smirked at the shock duo as she swiped the plate from under their noses and retreated back to the common room.

Settling back down beside Draco, she found her boyfriend laughing at their friends exploits. Looking at the empty plate sitting beside Draco, Hermione suddenly realised how the argument about the toast had come about. Draco had likely swiped Harry's toast, and he'd then mistaken Blaise's toast for his.

"You stole Harry's toast," Hermione hissed. The last thing she wanted was for Harry and Blaise to hear, as that would only make things tenser.

"Was it Potter's, I didn't realise." Draco shrugged, feigning innocence.

"You're terrible." Hermione shook her head at her boyfriend.

Draco merely grinned back at Hermione as their friends exited the kitchen. Ron and Theo had sorted their cereal and they now both had a bowl, while Harry and Blaise each had a plate of toast. The tension between the two Slytherins and the two Gryffindors was palpable, but at least the bickering stopped as everyone had breakfast.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Ron grumbled once breakfast was over. "We can't go outside because of the snow, and we can't get up into the common room."

"I don't know about you lot, but I intend to make this place a bit more festive," Draco announced. "Blaise, Theo, do you fancy coming with me to grab a tree?"

"Of course," Blaise replied with a grin. "It's not Christmas without a tree."

"Where are you going to get a tree from?" Hermione asked her boyfriend as the three Slytherins got up to leave.

"We can get one from The Great Hall," Draco replied.

"But the trees from The Great Hall won't fit in here," Hermione argued. "They're too big."

"We'll find a way," Draco replied, not concerned by the potential problem.

Hermione decided not to argue as Draco, Blaise and Theo left the head dorms. If they wanted to try and get a large tree into the head dorms, then that was their problem. She was just going to stay out of things, and let them do as they wanted.

"I guess now we're alone, we should talk." Hermione turned to Harry and Ron, once the trio were alone. "I'm guessing you have questions."

"I actually just have one," Harry said, surprising Hermione. "Why didn't you tell us about Malfoy sooner?"

"We were planning on telling people in the New Year," Hermione told her friends. "Initially we wanted to keep it between us, at least until we knew we were serious."

"But you were worried about our reaction," Harry guessed.

"I was," Hermione admitted. "I know you don't like Draco, and to be honest I was worried in case you would make me choose between you and him."

"We would never do that, Hermione," Ron said, joining in the conversation. "All we're worried about is whether or not you're happy."

"I am." Hermione smiled at her friends. "I'm very happy with Draco."

"Then I'm sure we can learn to live with it," Harry said, smiling back at his friend. "Of course, it would have been better not to have witnessed you in bed with him."

"I don't know, part of the view was pretty nice," Ron joked, winking at Hermione.

"Don't. It's just too embarrassing to think about." Hermione blushed bright red as she remembered that her two best friends had seen her topless.

"It could have been worse," Harry said as he and Ron laughed at Hermione's embarrassment. "You could have just hopped out of bed like Malfoy. Now that was embarrassing."

"Tell me about it," Ron agreed with a shudder. "I didn't know where to look. He's not shy, is he?"

"No, shyness isn't something Draco has to worry about," Hermione laughed.

"So, now we know about you and Malfoy does that mean you'll be going public in the New Year?" Harry asked, deciding to get the subject away from a naked Draco.

"I think so," Hermione said. "That was always the plan. Over the holidays I was going to meet his parents, then we were going to tell you lot in the New Year."

"You were going to meet Malfoy's parents?" Ron looked surprised at the plan. "How? You were supposed to be staying with us over Christmas?"

"I was going to visit the Manor over New Year," Hermione told her friends. "Draco's parents always hold a party on New Year's Eve, and I was going to attend. I'd mentioned to Molly that I would be spending New Year with a friend, I just failed to mention who."

"I can't believe you were going to the Manor," Harry said. "Is it really as big as Malfoy makes out?"

"I wouldn't know, I haven't been yet," Hermione replied. "And if this storm doesn't die down soon, I'll not be visiting anytime soon."

"I think it might just be getting worse," Harry sighed as he stood up and wandered over to the window.

Hermione and Ron got up and joined Harry at the window. Harry was right, it definitely looked as though the storm was getting worse. At this rate they would be here until the end of the holidays.

The trio were still standing watching the weather when the door to the dorms banged open. Instead of anyone coming through the door, the top of a tree was fighting its way through the door. Hermione, Harry and Ron watched as the tree moved further into the room and underneath it they could see the bottom of Theo. It looked as though his top half was actually in the tree as he guided it into the common room.

"A bit of help would be nice." Blaise's voice called from the corridor outside.

Harry and Ron shared an amused look, before they stepped forward to help the Slytherins. Harry and Ron grabbed the top of the tree and with the help of Theo, they began pulling it into the room. After nearly five minutes, Blaise appeared holding onto the middle of the tree. Once he'd struggled inside, it was another few minutes before Draco appeared with the bottom of the tree. Unlike Blaise and Theo, who were supporting the tree physically, Draco was brandishing his wand and using magic to help him.

"This is ridiculous," Hermione tutted as she looked at the large tree. The thing was on its side and was nearly the entire length of the room, there was no way it was going to fit standing up.

"It may be a bit big," Blaise conceded.

"You think." Hermione rolled her eyes at the Slytherin.

"There's nothing wrong with big," Draco protested. "You don't normally complain about things being super-sized."

Blaise and Theo both let out a bark of laughter at Draco's obvious double meaning, while Harry and Ron groaned in dismay. Hermione shook her head at Draco, who was shooting her a seductive grin.

"There's only one thing about you that's super-sized, and that's your ego," Hermione shot back, causing Blaise and Theo to laugh even harder.

"Maybe we should try and get this thing up," Harry suggested, causing another round of laughter from the Slytherins.

"We better ask Draco for advice, he seems to be the expert at getting big things up," Theo cackled.

"Don't encourage him," Hermione muttered.

With the Slytherins still chuckling, they managed to extract Theo from the middle of the tree. Hermione had to laugh as he began picking bits of tree from his hair. Once Theo was free of tree debris, the boys set about trying to get the tree standing in the corner of the room. After about ten minutes of pushing and shoving, it became clear to the boys that the tree was far too big for the room.

"Hmm." Draco stepped back and looked at the tree that still wasn't up properly. "We may have a problem."

"And can you not fix it?" Hermione asked. She had a solution, but she was interested to see how long it took the boys to remember they had magic and could fix the problem easily.

"It looks as though we're going to have to shrink the tree," Draco said with a sigh.

"If you'd done that in the first place you could have gotten it back up here easier," Hermione pointed out.

"Now you tell us," Theo huffed, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. "It was bloody difficult getting this thing up here."

"I thought three supposedly clever wizards would have figured the best plan was to shrink the tree." Hermione shrugged.

"That doesn't matter now," Draco said hurriedly, brushing over their stupidity. "Let's get it shrunk, then we can tidy the decorations."

"Speaking of which, why did you get a Slytherin tree?" Ron asked. "What about us Gryffindors?"

"We did the hard work, if you want a Gryffindor tree, you go and nick one," Blaise told Harry and Ron.

"No more trees," Hermione insisted, before Harry and Ron darted off to get a tree. "We can change half the decorations on this one."

Once the tree had been shrunk so it fit into the corner of the room, the boys set about straightening it up and making sure the decorations were neat and tidy. Once it was fully up, Harry and Ron set about changing half of the decorations to red and gold. By the time the tree was finished it was a mesh of the four colours that represented the two houses, and no-one was overly happy with it.

"Now it looks tacky," Blaise moaned. "You don't put four colours on a tree."

"Let me sort this out," Hermione said, shooing the boys out of the way.

Ten minutes later the tree decorations were charmed to change colour every hour. For one hour the tree would be silver and green, and then for the next hour it would be red and gold. All five boys were happy with the result, and complimented Hermione on her decorating skills. Now they had a beautiful tree, and it suited both the Slytherins and the Gryffindors.


	5. Christmas Eve

**Christmas Eve.**

Harry and Ron woke up on Christmas Eve not feeling at all festive. They had now been stuck at Hogwarts for days, and they were bored silly. Since they were in the head dorms Hermione and Draco did have their belongings, but in Harry and Ron's opinion they had very little to help pass the time. Draco did have a wizarding chess set and various decks of cards, but other than that the couple's main entertainment seemed to be books and each other.

Of course the head students frisky behaviour did little to help with the two Gryffindors mood. For the last few afternoons, Hermione and Draco had curled up on one of the sofa's together as they each read their own book, and in general they were constantly kissing and touching each other. However things had gotten worse the previous night when Harry and Ron had been drifting off to sleep they had been disturbed by loud noises from Draco's room. After finding Hermione and Draco together when they first entered the head dorms a few days previously, Harry and Ron knew exactly what was happening in the Head Boy's room. Unfortunately for them, the noises continued for quite a while and they discovered first hand just how loud their best friend was in bed.

"I feel like I've barely slept," Harry grumbled as the pair rolled off their respective sofas and tidied up their bedding. "Every time I would drop off to sleep, I would hear Hermione moaning and screaming."

"How could you sleep at all through that?" Ron asked. "I tried burying my head under a pillow and I could still hear her."

"This was after they'd finished," Harry explained. "I think I was just so scarred that it was haunting my dreams."

"I just wonder what was so special about last night," Ron said as the pair made their way to the small kitchen and began preparing their breakfast.

"What do you mean?" Harry frowned.

"I mean that was the first night we've heard them," Ron pointed out. "We've been here a few days, and I'm betting they've had sex before last night. However, we've never heard them before last night."

"I heard them the first night we were here," Harry said. "I went up to the bathroom and I could hear quiet moaning when I passed the bedroom."

"Yeah, but you had to be upstairs to hear them," Ron said. "Last night we could hear them down here."

"I bet Malfoy put a charm on the room so we could hear them," Harry said. "Sneaky bugger."

"Who's a sneaky bugger?" Hermione asked as she entered the kitchen to find her two best friends making their breakfast.

"Your bloody boyfriend," Ron said as he and Harry grabbed their cereal bowls and stalked back into the common room.

"What's Draco done now?" Hermione sighed, leaning against the opening to the kitchen alcove.

"Did I hear someone mention my name?" Draco called as he appeared from the stairway.

"We were just telling Hermione about your little trick last night," Ron told the Slytherin.

"What trick?" Draco asked with a frown.

"Putting some sort of spell on your room so we could hear everything that was going on," Harry replied. "We were awake for hours, listening to the pair of you moaning and screaming. Honestly, it was ridiculous how loud you were."

Hermione blushed bright red at Harry's observations about the noise levels coming from Draco's room. It was bad enough that her friends had already caught her in bed with Draco without them discovering just how loud she could get.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Draco told the Gryffindor duo. "I put no spell on my room last night."

"How come it was so much louder then?" Harry demanded. "We've never heard you before last night, except for when we've been up to the bathroom."

"Draco?" Hermione turned to glare at her boyfriend. If she found out he'd deliberately done something to wind up Harry and Ron she would kill him.

"I swear, I haven't done anything," Draco promised his girlfriend. "I have no idea how Potter and Weasley heard so much last night. Maybe you were just louder than normal."

Hermione regained her red face at Draco's suggestion. Eager to be away from her friend's prying eyes she turned around and disappeared back into the kitchen alcove. Hermione was still in the kitchen, taking her time to make her breakfast, when a cheery Blaise and Theo came down to breakfast.

"Isn't it a wonderful day?" Blaise grinned.

"If you mean the storm is still going strong then yes, it's a glorious day." Draco rolled his eyes at his friend as he settled down with a glass of juice and some cereal.

"It's Christmas Eve, show some festive spirit you lot," Theo said, tutting at the miserable looking Gryffindor duo, a half asleep Draco and a hiding Hermione.

"It's hard to show festive spirit when you've been awake half the night," Ron muttered, just as Hermione finally left the safety of the kitchen.

"What are we missing?" Blaise asked, looking between an uncomfortable looking Harry and Ron and a red faced Hermione.

"Did you not hear these two last night?" Harry asked the Slytherin pair. "They were really loud."

"We silenced Hermione's room the day we arrived," Theo answered. "At least that way we know we can sleep in peace."

"Why didn't you two silence your room?" Ron demanded of his best friend and her lover.

"We never thought about it," Draco answered with a shrug. "We never have to think about silencing the room since we're usually the only two people here."

"Maybe tonight you can silence the room," Harry suggested. "Or at least don't magnify the sound."

"I've already told you, I did no such thing," Draco growled as he got up and stalked into the kitchen.

Blaise and Theo followed their friend into the kitchen alcove and Theo discreetly shot a silencing spell around the alcove.

"It seems Potter and Weasley enjoyed their early Christmas present," Blaise smirked.

"It was you two," Draco gasped, looking at his smirking friends. "You amplified the noises coming from my room."

"We're getting bored, we needed something to entertain ourselves with and Potter and Weasley are the perfect targets," Theo laughed. "We knew they'd be as uncomfortable as hell listening to you and Hermione."

"Either that or they would get off on it," Blaise added. "But considering their reactions to catching you earlier that was a long shot."

"Hermione will kill you if she finds out what you've done," Draco warned his friends. Personally he thought it was great that Blaise and Theo had disturbed Hermione's friends, but he knew his girlfriend wouldn't be impressed if she discovered that it was Theo and Blaise responsible for Harry and Ron hearing just how loud and vocal she got during sex.

"Unless you're going to tell her, she won't find out," Blaise replied.

"Your secret's safe with me," Draco promised his friends, before he returned to the common room.

"So what are we going to do today?" Harry asked as Blaise and Theo joined them with their breakfasts.

"I can't believe it's Christmas Eve and we're stuck here," Ron grumbled. "We don't even have presents to unwrap."

"Speak for yourself, some of us have things to unwrap," Draco smirked, giving Hermione a saucy wink.

"There'll be no unwrapping until later tonight," Hermione warned her boyfriend. "I've got plans for the day."

"What? Is it something we can all do?" Harry asked eagerly.

"I'm planning on going down to the kitchens and seeing what I can come up with for lunch tomorrow," Hermione said. "I'm hoping to be able to rustle up a nice Christmas lunch for us all. I might also see if I can find some stuff to bake some cookies and mince pies this afternoon."

"No offence Hermione, but I don't think you want any of us in the kitchen with you," Theo chuckled.

So far the only people to produce edible meals had been Hermione and Harry, whenever anyone else tried to cook things kept going wrong. Blaise had burnt his meal to a crisp, Ron had added way too much salt to the stew he'd tried to make, Theo had mistaken sugar for salt when he tried to cook and Draco had caused a small explosion and mini fire on his attempt.

"You're right, I don't think I do," Hermione said with a smile. Even though she was fairly sure the three Slytherins kitchen incidents hadn't been accidental, she still didn't want them causing chaos when she was trying to cook. "I'll be better off on my own. You boys can find something else to occupy your time."

Leaving the boys to discuss what they were going to do for the day, Hermione headed back upstairs to get dressed. Hermione was halfway through getting dressed when Draco entered the room.

"Did you find something to do?" She asked.

"We're going to go flying," Draco announced as he began to get dressed.

"How is that possible?" Hermione asked. "It's still snowing outside, not that we could get out even if it wasn't, and no-one but you has access to their brooms."

"We're going to set up a route around the school with obstacles and see who can clear it the fastest," Draco explained.

"Boys and flying." Hermione rolled her eyes at the excitement in her boyfriend's voice. However it would keep everyone entertained for the rest of the day and she wouldn't have to put up with people whining about being bored.

When everyone was dressed and ready to go, Hermione headed down to the kitchen while the five boys settled down to devise a suitable route and obstacles to overcome. It took a good couple of hours to plan the route, then it took the rest of the morning to set things up using bits and pieces they could get from the classrooms that weren't locked up.

Once the obstacle course was set up, the group decided lunch was in order before they established who the best flyer was. When they returned to the head dorms, they found Hermione had laid out plates of sandwiches and pasties as well as a plate of cakes.

"How did your search for Christmas Lunch go?" Draco asked his girlfriend as everyone settled down to eat.

"I found everything I need. Tomorrow we'll be having turkey and all the trimmings," Hermione replied. "I also found the stuff so I can bake this afternoon."

"Excellent." Ron grinned widely at the thought of a proper Christmas Lunch, something he'd resigned himself to missing out on this year.

"Thank Merlin we're stuck with you, Hermione," Theo remarked. "If we were on our own we would have starved to death before now."

"Or killed each other," Blaise added. "You're the only one keeping us sane."

"I'm flattered," Hermione chuckled. "If only I could get you to stop moaning about being bored."

"That's not going to happen," Ron snorted. "We might have something sorted for this afternoon, but on a whole there's nothing to do."

"Luckily some of us can entertain ourselves much better and can find plenty of things to do," Draco said smugly.

"Some of us weren't lucky enough to be trapped with our girlfriends," Blaise shot back at his smug friend. "If I knew we were going to get trapped, I wouldn't have brought Theo with me. I would have brought Daphne or Pansy, at least then I could have had some fun."

"Are you saying I'm not fun?" Theo demanded with a frown. "I'll have you know I'm a very fun person."

"I can hardly have the same sort of fun with you as I would have had with Daphne or Pansy, would I?" Blaise tutted. "No offence Theo, but you're hardly my type."

"Looks like you'll have to play by yourself, Blaise," Draco laughed.

"And on that note, I'm going to get started on my baking," Hermione announced as the boys burst into fits of laughter. "Have fun with your flying, and if anyone breaks anything don't come crying to me."

"Does she mean if we break bones or if we break something in the school?" Blaise asked Draco as the boys got ready to go flying.

"Probably both," Draco answered as he summoned his broom from the bedroom. "If we break anything around school, we'll have to fix it and if we break bones we'll have to fix them ourselves as well."

"No-one's going to break any bones," Harry replied confidently. "At least Ron and I aren't. If you Slytherins are such bad flyers that you're going to break bones, that's not our fault."

"We're not going to break any bones either," Theo told Harry. "Us Slytherins are going to show you a thing or two about flying."

"How are we going to do this?" Blaise asked before a full on argument could break out and ruin the fun banter they'd got going that morning. "How can we be sure everyone is following the course and has cleared all the obstacles? And how are we sure the timing is done correctly?"

"Only one person can fly at once, so there'll always be a Slytherin and a Gryffindor to do the timings together," Draco replied. "And as for the course, we're just going to have to trust each other. I don't know about anyone else, but I would rather lose than win by cheating."

"Me too," Harry said.

Years ago he would have said that Draco would have cheated because he was a Slytherin, but Harry knew that wasn't true of the blond's nature. During Harry's first few years playing quidditch the Slytherin team were notorious cheats, but all that changed when Draco took over the captaincy in his fifth year. Under Draco's command the Slytherin team no longer relied on cheating to win, they won or lost a game based purely on their own talent and hard work.

With everyone vowing to be honest, the group set off to spend their Christmas Eve afternoon flying around a deserted school. By the time they were finished Draco and Harry were the two quickest around the course, with Harry beating Draco by mere seconds. They also managed to break a few things around the school, but they fixed them and replaced them without ever telling Hermione what they'd done.

When they finished and tidied the school up, they returned to the Head Dorms to find Hermione had been very busy in the kitchen. She'd made mince pies, mini cupcakes and biscuits. She also had the turkey cooking so the common room smelt especially festive as the group settled down to feast on Hermione's baking and spend a peaceful Christmas Eve evening together.


	6. Christmas at Hogwarts

**Christmas at Hogwarts.**

Hermione awoke to the feeling of Draco pressing soft kisses on her shoulder and neck. Since starting their relationship it was a pretty normal way for Hermione to wake up. Occasionally Draco would wake her up with his mouth teasing her far lower on her body, but on a whole she woke up to him kissing her neck.

Smiling happily, Hermione rolled over so she was facing her boyfriend. "Hey."

"Happy Christmas," Draco grinned.

"Happy Christmas," Hermione returned before connecting their lips in a short kiss.

"I think we should stay here all day and celebrate the day together," Draco said as his hands slid under his shirt that Hermione had worn to bed.

"As tempting as that sounds, it's just not feasible," Hermione replied, moaning slightly as Draco's hands explored her soft skin. "Not with four other people around."

"Blasted friends," Draco cursed. "If they hadn't interrupted us in the first place, this could have been the perfect holiday. We would be up here all alone, but instead we've got those four ruining the atmosphere."

"We'll just have to make the most of the time alone we do have," Hermione grinned as she plunged her hands under the covers and set about exploring Draco's naked body.

"In that case, let me give you the first of your Christmas presents," Draco smirked, rolling over so he had Hermione pinned underneath him.

"First of how many?" Hermione asked as her boyfriend flicked open the couple of buttons that were fastened on the shirt she was wearing.

"We'll have to see, won't we?" Draco replied, gazing down at his girlfriend as he exposed her firm breasts to his eyes. "And that could all depend on when we get disturbed by the others."

"That'll be happening sooner rather than later if you're just going to talk," Hermione chuckled.

"We both know you like it when I talk," Draco smirked down at his girlfriend. It hadn't taken him long to discover that Hermione had a thing for him talking dirty, and a lot of times he could have her a quivering wreck just by describing what he planned on doing to her.

"I like it when you combine talking with action," Hermione said, wriggling against her boyfriend and causing him to moan when she pressed against his hardening member.

"Since it's Christmas, I'll give you both," Draco promised, swooping down and connecting his lips with Hermione's in a passionate kiss.

For the next hour, Draco delivered on his promise of action and talking. Keeping up a constant litany of dirty talking, he gave Hermione two orgasms in rapid succession, before succumbing to his own release. After a brief recovery period the couple were at it again, and were on the verge of climax when there was a knock on the door.

"Get up you two," Blaise called through the door. "It's Christmas and we're going to exchange the few presents we have."

"Two minutes," Draco called back to his friend as neither he nor Hermione paused what they were doing on the bed.

"It better be two minutes," Blaise retorted. "If you're not downstairs in a couple of minutes we're coming back up and dragging your arses out of bed."

"We're coming," Draco snarled at Blaise, just as Hermione let out a loud cry and exploded around him. With a low grunt, Draco followed his girlfriend over the edge and collapsed on top of her.

"So I heard," Blaise laughed from outside the door, before his footsteps could be heard heading down the stairs.

"Bloody Blaise," Draco muttered, burying his head in Hermione's neck. "I'm going to kill him for interrupting us."

"He didn't exactly put us off though, did he?" Hermione laughed. Even when Blaise had first knocked on the door they hadn't bothered to stop their activities as they knew the door was locked.

"Lucky for him," Draco said as he moved so he wasn't squashing his girlfriend. If Blaise had brought about an early end to their fun, Draco wouldn't have been at all happy.

"I guess this means we have to get up," Hermione sighed.

"I guess so," Draco replied as the pair reluctantly dragged themselves out of bed.

Quickly the couple used the bathroom and proceeded to get dressed. They then went to the bags they'd packed for the holidays and pulled out the presents inside. It had only occurred to them late yesterday evening that they all had their bags with them and in the bags were everything they were taking home for the holidays, including presents. That meant that Draco had presents for his friends and Hermione, while Hermione had presents for her friends and Draco. Harry and Ron also had presents for each other and Hermione, while Blaise and Theo had presents for Draco and each other.

With their presents in hand the couple headed down to the common room where they found all four of their friends up and dressed. the foursome were already sitting around the Christmas tree with their presents underneath, and sitting on the table beside the tree was two steaming hot cups of hot chocolate.

"Are they for us?" Hermione pointed to the drinks as Draco placed their presents under the tree.

"They are," Harry beamed. "I made them. I actually made us all one, but we've finished ours ages ago."

"Thank you, we appreciate it," Hermione said to her friend as she settled on the floor and grabbed one of the mugs.

"Thanks Potter." Draco nodded in the other boy's direction as he also grabbed a mug.

"Since you two have finally graced us with your presence, let's open presents shall we?" Theo said eagerly.

With everyone in agreement that they could open presents, Theo took it upon himself to be in charge. One at a time he pulled a present from under the tree and handed it to the recipient. Once everyone had their presents in front of them, they began to open their gifts.

As expected the boys had all exchanged some sort of Quidditch based gifts. Blaise and Theo both got tickets to a match from Draco, while Blaise had bought Draco and Theo shirts and Theo had bought his friends new gloves and a book about their favourite teams. Harry and Ron's presents were also Quidditch based with Ron giving Harry a new broom care kit and Harry giving Ron a quaffle signed by one of the Chudley Cannons chasers.

Hermione however had been a bit more inventive in her present giving and not one of her gifts had anything to do with Quidditch. For Ron she'd filled a large box full of sweets and chocolates from Honeydukes and she'd also included some from the muggle world so that Ron could try something new. Harry received a jumper he'd been looking at in Hogsmeade and a large deep red notebook and fancy quill. Hermione knew the notebook would be ideal for his Quidditch notes, but technically the gift had nothing to do with the wizarding sport her friends were so obsessed with, it would just be up to Harry if that's what he chose to do with the book. Hermione also hadn't included anything Quidditch related in her gifts for Draco. For her boyfriend she'd bought him a rare potions book and an emerald green shirt, which he immediately changed into.

As for Hermione's presents, she received a bottle of her favourite perfume off Ron and a charm bracelet off Harry. Draco gave his girlfriend a wizarding mythology book, and a necklace and earrings set. The necklace was a silver heart with an emerald 'H' in the middle and the earrings formed a matching set. Like Draco had done with her shirt, Hermione immediately slipped the necklace around her neck and put the earrings in.

By the time everyone had opened their presents, it was time for Hermione to go and get lunch started. However since it was Christmas the boys had a quick chat and decided to offer their services to the young witch.

"Are you serious?" Hermione asked as the boys entered the kitchen offering to help. "You really want to help?"

"We really want to help," Draco told his girlfriend.

"In that case, three of you can peel and chop the veg," Hermione said, pointing to the veg she was just about to prepare. "And the other two can head down to the kitchens to see if they can find anything to make the table a bit more festive. You can then set the table, if you don't mind."

After a quick debate, Blaise and Theo headed off to sort the table while Harry and Ron set about peeling the veg. Grabbing a knife, Draco began chopping the veg and placing them in the pans Hermione directed him to. Hermione meanwhile set about making sure the turkey was fully cooked and sorting the rest of the meal.

Once the vegetables were cooking, Hermione thanked her boyfriend and friends for their help and sent them to relax before lunch. The trio had just settled down to relax when Blaise and Theo entered the room carrying a large box.

"What did you find?" Draco asked his friends as they dumped the box on the coffee table.

"All sorts," Theo replied. "We found a locked cupboard and there was allsorts inside."

"How do you get inside if it was locked?" Ron frowned. So far every locked door they'd found in the school couldn't be opened with Alohamora.

"Alohamora," Blaise answered. "We didn't expect it to work, but it did."

"Let's see what you've got then," Harry said as the boys began to pull things from the box.

There really was allsorts in the box and it soon became clear they could make a lovely festive table. Using the large table that was normally used for studying, Theo covered it with a Christmas table cloth. They then set the table using green and red cutlery and plates. Blaise then produced name place holders, crackers and two long stemmed candles to stand in the middle of the table.

"Theo, write some name places," Blaise ordered.

"Why me?" Theo groaned.

"It doesn't really matter who does them, as long as someone does," Draco said, hoping his friends weren't going to get into an argument over something as stupid as place holders.

Grumbling about having to do everything, Theo settled down to write out some name cards while Blaise pulled out some wine goblets from the box and set them on the table. With a flourish he then pulled out a couples of bottles of wine and placed them on the table.

"Where did you get wine from?" Draco asked, picking a bottle up and finding it was alcoholic. "Surely this wasn't in the kitchen."

"It wasn't," Blaise replied. "I don't know where it's from actually. When we found the goblets we thought it would be nice to have a drink with dinner, so I tried summoning some wine. Those two bottles flew into my hands."

"So they could belong to anyone," Harry said, eyeing the bottles us warily. "What if we get wrong for drinking them?"

"Then they should have been locked up more carefully," Blaise shrugged. "If they were locked away securely, even a summoning charm wouldn't work. I know for a fact that Snape keeps a bottle of firewhisky in his office, but I've tried summoning it and it won't come to me."

"Snape's more than likely got it with him," Draco laughed. "He wouldn't leave his best firewhisky lying around school, even if the school is empty."

"How do you know Snape keeps alcohol in his office?" Ron asked the Slytherins.

"The same way we know McGonagall keeps a bottle of gin in her office, we like to investigate when he have detentions and such," Blaise replied with a cheeky grin. "You'd be surprised what we know about the Professors."

Harry and Ron were just about to ask more when Hermione poked her head out from the kitchen alcove and thanked Blaise and Theo for their help with the table. She then announced that lunch would be ready in just over half an hour before she returned to the kitchen.

Half an hour later the group settled down to a glorious Christmas lunch, complete with stolen wine. To begin they all pulled crackers, told the lame jokes inside and settled the various wacky hats on their heads.

"A toast to Hermione, for cooking this delicious meal," Harry said, raising his glass.

"To Hermion," The other four boys chorused as they clinked their glasses together.

Hermione blushed at the compliment and raised her own glass in a different toast. "Here's to spending one final Christmas at Hogwarts."


	7. The End of Festive Spirits

**The End of Festive Spirits.**

Coming down into the common room, Hermione groaned as she walked in on yet another argument. For the last few days the bickering had become a constant presence and Hermione was getting sick of it. After the success of Christmas, Hermione had hoped her friends and Draco's were learning to get along, but in the last few days all that had gone out of the window.

Hermione thought the problems stemmed back to Boxing Day. When they'd gotten up on Boxing Day the group had been thrilled to find it wasn't snowing for the first time since they were left behind. Since it looked like the storm had passed everyone started to get excited at the prospect of going home. However, no-one got in touch with them and by the middle of the afternoon it was snowing again, and once again it showed no sign of stopping. The brief hope of leaving, followed by the crushing realisation they were still trapped seemed to have had an adverse effect on people and ever since then there was always someone bickering and arguing.

Listening to the bickering foursome, Hermione decided they were moaning about the same things as the previous day. Harry and Ron were complaining that they weren't getting enough sleep on the sofas and were in need of a proper bed. It hadn't occurred to either of them to use magic to make their sleeping arrangements any easier, and Hermione was so sick of the bickering and sniping that she was in no mood to help them. Blaise and Theo meanwhile were arguing over Theo apparently groping Blaise in the night and Blaise's smelly feet. Not at all in the mood to try and play peacekeeper, Hermione walked straight through the common room and exited the Head Dorms.

Not bothering to think about where she was going to go, Hermione wandered the corridors. It wasn't until she'd been walking for nearly ten minutes that she realised she hadn't seen Draco in the common room. Since she'd come from upstairs, she knew he wasn't in his room and since there was no sign of him amidst the bickering, he must also be wandering the school. Hermione paused for a few minutes as she tried to decide where her boyfriend would be. The dungeons would be the obvious place to look, but she knew that not only was the Slytherin common room inaccessible, but the Potions classroom and Snape's office were also securely locked up. The only other place Hermione could even think her boyfriend could be was the Astronomy Tower, as she knew Draco liked to look at the stars. Hermione wasn't sure if it was even open since the very top of the tower had no windows and would be completely exposed to the storm raging outside, but she decided it would be worth trying.

Five minutes later Hermione was at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the Astronomy Tower. Not sure how far she would get, Hermione began to climb the stairs. Hermione actually got all the way to the top floor of the tower, which was where she found Draco sitting beside the large window that overlooked the grounds. The stairs that led to the open observation deck were closed off behind a door that Hermione suspected was securely locked.

"Hey." Hermione walked over to Draco and looked outside for the first time that day. "It's stopped snowing again."

"It stopped about half an hour ago," Draco replied as Hermione sat down next to him. "And the sky looks clearer than it did on Boxing Day. I think the storm may really be over this time."

"Let's hope so. I want to get out of here before I'm responsible for four deaths."

"Are they still arguing?" Draco groaned. "It's been none stop since Boxing Day."

"They're still arguing," Hermione confirmed. "I took one look at the lot of them bickering and left the head dorms."

"Did they say anything?" Draco asked, turning to look at his girlfriend who shook her head.

When their friends weren't bickering they were constantly making cracks about Draco and Hermione's relationship. With four other people around it was hard for the couple to get any time alone, but whenever they did try and sneak some privacy into their day, their friends were always there to make remarks about it. Half the time the couple just wanted some time alone to talk and relax together, but their friends made it seem as though all they wanted to do was have sex. Hermione especially was becoming sick of the innuendos, as she was beginning to think that their friends thought they were just having a fling that would fizzle out at the end of the year.

"What are you planning on doing if we can leave soon?" Draco asked, deciding to change the subject away from their annoying friends. "Do you still want to come to the Manor for New Year?"

"Unless you don't want me."

Draco smiled at Hermione as he leant over and pressed his lips against hers. "I always want you."

"That's not what I meant," Hermione laughed. "Comments like that is part of the reason our friends think we spend every available moment shagging."

"Our friends think that, because that's what they would do in our place," Draco stated. "If Blaise or Theo were stuck with a gorgeous girl all holidays, the only thing they would think about doing is taking her to bed. Neither of them are big on actual relationships, they both prefer the casual approach to dating."

"What about Harry and Ron?" Hermione asked. "They think the same thing, and I know for a fact that neither of them think like Blaise and Theo. Harry is quite happily dating Ginny, and Ron dated Lavender for most of last year. They both know there's more to a relationship than sex."

"For those two I think it's wishful thinking," Draco chuckled. "It was fairly obvious when they first caught us, that they didn't have a lot of experience in that area. I think they're both hormonal boys and in our shoes I don't think they'd do a lot else other than have sex."

"Should I be offended that you don't want sex twenty four hours a day?" Hermione asked with a frown. "If what you've just said about the others is true and all they think about is sex, why are you different?"

"I'm not," Draco grinned wickedly. "I do pretty much think about sex all the time, but that's not the only reason we're together. I like spending time with you when we're not having sex. Our relationship is about so much more than that, so while sex may be on my mind more often than it would appear, I'm happy not be tearing each other's clothes off all the time."

Satisfied with her boyfriend's answer, Hermione rested her head on his shoulder as the couple returned their attention back to the outside world. The snow still hadn't restarted and the sky was starting to look a bit brighter. However, even a quick glance down to the ground showed how thick the snow was. Even if they had reached the end of the storm, it would be weeks before the snow cleared by itself. To get the school back up and running for the beginning of term the Professors would definitely have to use magic to clear the grounds.

"You never did say if you still wanted me to go to the manor with you," Hermione said after several minutes of peace and quiet.

"Of course I want you to come to the manor," Draco replied. "I just wasn't sure if you'd still want to considering we've been stuck up here all over Christmas. I wasn't sure if you would want to spend the rest of the holidays with your friends."

"It's not as if I haven't seen them. Harry and Ron have been here all holidays," Hermione pointed out. "Besides, if we're serious about being together I need to meet your parents. Even if they will disapprove of me."

"They won't disapprove of you," Draco insisted.

"Yeah right, of course they won't disapprove of a muggleborn witch stealing the heart of their precious pureblood son," Hermione snorted.

The Malfoys were still strong believers in blood purity, and Hermione suspected that Draco's parents wouldn't like him getting involved with a muggleborn. Draco himself had only stopped thinking that purebloods were superior when he started school and found that other students of so called lesser blood lines were just as able at performing magic as he was. Of course change wasn't instantaneous and it took him a couple of years to full drop the pureblood supremacy he'd been brought up believing in.

"My parents may believe that purebloods are superior, but more importantly they want me to be happy," Draco said. "They already know you're a muggleborn, and while they weren't thrilled at the news they've agreed to get to know you before judging you."

"Let's just hope they like me," Hermione sighed as Draco reassured her that wouldn't be a problem and his parents would love her.

Despite her boyfriend's protests, Hermione was under no illusions and she knew that if Draco's parents seriously disliked her it would make their relationship practically impossible to carry on with. As much as Draco may care for her, she didn't think he would give up his family for her. Not that she wanted him to do anything like that as eventually his sacrifice would come between them and tear them apart anyway. What they needed for their relationship to continue, was for Lucius and Narcissa to approve, or at least not disapprove to the point where Draco was torn between his family and his girlfriend.

Moving away from the topic of Draco's parents, the couple stayed snuggled in the Astronomy Tower for hours. Finally they decided they should go and check on their friends and tell them the news that the storm looked to be clearing. Hopefully this time things would stay clear and they would soon have word about the possibility of leaving Hogwarts.

When Hermione and Draco re-entered the Head Dorms they'd expected to find their friends still fighting, but instead they found the foursome were sitting around laughing and talking together like good friends. There was a set of cards on the coffee table, but at the minute they'd been abandoned as the group chatted.

"What's happened here?" Hermione asked. "When I left the four of you were practically having a fist fight."

"Good news, we're going home," Harry grinned. "I went for a walk about an hour ago and I was stopped by a portrait. Dumbledore has sent word to say the storm is easing off and passing Hogwarts. They're working on re-establishing the floo connections and hopefully someone will be here later this afternoon. We're to stay in the head dorms until someone comes for us."

"That's great news." Draco let out a large sigh of relief as he sunk down on one the sofa beside Blaise.

"Have you all packed?" Hermione asked, immediately thinking of the practical things.

"Yes, we're all done," Ron nodded, giving Hermione a pleasant surprise when she found her friends were organised.

"We're just celebrating," Theo announced, gesturing to the glasses that each of the boys had in their hands.

"Do I want to know what's in those glasses?" Hermione asked, looking at drinks that seemed suspiciously like firewhisky to her.

"Just drink up and join us," Blaise said, summoning two more glasses full of the amber liquid for Draco and Hermione. "We're just about to play a game of strip poker."

"You were going to play strip poker with four guys?" Draco questioned. "Surely that defeats the point of the game. You're supposed to play with witches, so you can get them semi-naked. No-one wants to see other guys stripping off."

"You play strip poker to get girls to take their clothes off?" Hermione asked her boyfriend with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course not, I've never ever done that before," Draco vowed with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "I'm speaking theoretically."

"Don't believe him Hermione, it's thanks to Draco's card skills that I saw my first pair of breasts," Theo said wistfully. "Back in fourth year he organised a card game, and he got Pansy down to her underwear."

"How is seeing Pansy in her underwear, seeing your first pair of breasts?" Ron asked. "Surely they were covered."

"They were, but she leant over the table and she came spilling out of her bra," Blaise laughed at the memory.

"Well I will not be spilling out of anywhere," Hermione announced. "I'm going to pack before we leave. If you want to play cards, you lot are on your own."

"It doesn't matter, we've all seen what you have to offer," Theo grinned wickedly.

Hermione blushed at the memory of the day they were left behind as she turned and headed up the stairs. A few minutes later Draco followed her and the couple happily packed up their bags for the remainder of the holidays. It would be good to finally leave Hogwarts and the boredom that accompanied being stuck in school all holidays with four whingeing friends.


	8. Rescue Arrives

**Rescue Arrives.**

With the storm having passed enough to establish a floo connection with Hogwarts, Dumbledore immediately set about gathering the parents and rescuing his stuck students. All over the holidays the Headmaster had been full of guilt at leaving six students behind. When it had happened he tried to underplay the situation and make light of it, but deep down he was kicking himself for his foolishness.

Dumbledore knew that it could be argued that Harry, Ron, Blaise and Theo only had themselves to blame for being left behind. If they'd followed instructions and gone straight to the carriages they would never have been left in school. However, he could place no blame on the head students. Until it emerged on the train that they'd been left behind, Dumbledore hadn't given one thought to Draco and Hermione. He'd ensured the four Heads of Houses informed all their students to vacate the castle, but he'd totally forgotten that as Head Boy and Girl, Draco and Hermione had their own private rooms and therefore weren't guaranteed to be in their house common rooms. So far Dumbledore had failed to mention the fact he'd forgotten about Draco and Hermione, but with the rescue imminent he knew there was a strong possibility his indiscretion would come to light, and he doubted Lucius Malfoy would be too impressed with his actions.

Trying not to worry about what may or may not happen, Dumbledore focused his energies on making sure the floo connection to Hogwarts was stable. Since there were so many students to bring home and they were from two different houses, Dumbledore had gathered the families at The Leaky Cauldron. Tom had been kind enough to let them use one of the private back rooms and it was there that the reunions would be taking place.

Molly and Arthur were both present to pick up Harry, Ron and Hermione, and they'd brought Ginny along with them. Lucius and Narcissa had arrived to pick up Draco and Blaise, and seconds ago the Notts had arrived to take Theo home.

"Is the connection secure yet?" Lucius demanded as he grew increasingly impatient. His son had been stuck up at Hogwarts all over Christmas and it would be nice to have him home for New Year, however at this rate they'd still be in London waiting for Dumbledore to fix things.

"A few more minutes, I think," Dumbledore muttered, not looking up from where he was tinkering with the fire.

"Take your time Albus, we don't want any unfortunate accidents," Arthur told the Headmaster as he shot Lucius a stony glare for being so impatient.

"No we don't," Lucius agreed. "There'll be serious trouble if my son loses any body parts traveling by floo."

"No-one will lose any body parts," Dumbledore told the gathered parents. "At least I hope they won't," He whispered under his breath. To be honest he wouldn't know if the connection was completely secure until he headed through to Hogwarts himself.

After five more minutes Dumbledore was convinced the connection was strong enough to use. However, he was very aware that the storm was worse up in Scotland and he had a limited time window in which to reach the stranded students and bring them home. According to the forecast it was due to begin snowing again up in the highlands that night, before the snow passed fully in two days' time.

"I'll go through and usher the students back," Dumbledore announced. "We want to do this as swiftly as possible, so please make sure the students alight from the fire quickly."

Bracing himself for who knows what on the other end, Dumbledore took a deep breath and stepped into the emerald flames. According to his calculations he'd connected directly to the fire in the head dorms, but he wasn't sure if the storm would have interfered with his connection. In reality he knew he might emerge from any fire in the vast school.

Luckily for Dumbledore when he emerged from the fire on the other side, he was in the head dorms. Stepping out of the fire, he gaped in amazement at the scene before him. Given that three Gryffindors and three Slytherins had been stuck together for almost two weeks he expected to find moody students who'd been bickering the entire time, what he found was six students that all looked fairly happy. When he first emerged from the flames, Ron and Theo were playing exploding snap while Blaise and Harry were discussing quidditch. However the most surprising pair were the head students themselves. Draco was sitting on one of the chairs and Hermione was quite happily curled up on his lap. Even though Dumbledore knew the pair had learnt to tolerate each other since becoming head students, he'd had no idea romance had blossomed between them.

"Professor Dumbledore, you're here," Harry cried, jumping up and interrupting the Headmaster's curious thoughts about the head students.

"I am, and we need to get back to London as soon as possible," Dumbledore explained. "This is just a break in the storm. By tonight it will be snowing again, and it's expected to last a few more days."

"Let's get going then," Theo said, grabbing his bag.

Everyone followed Theo's lead, jumping up and grabbing their own bags. As they did so Dumbledore announced everyone was gathered at The Leaky Cauldron, and that was where they were going to floo to. One at a time, Dumbledore sent the students through the floo network, hoping that they each arrived safely. Finally it was just the Headmaster and the two head students, and Dumbledore turned to the couple, knowing he owed them an apology.

"I would like to sincerely apologise for this oversight," Dumbledore said to the two teenagers. "I completely forgot to send you two a message about the train leaving early. I can't apologise enough."

"It was a mistake, they happen," Hermione shrugged. "Besides, we coped perfectly fine."

"If you don't count the arguments, the burnt meals and the boredom," Draco added sarcastically.

"I'm very sorry," Dumbledore said. "But let's finally fix this and get the pair of you home for the New Year."

Handing both the head students some floo powder, Dumbledore watched as they disappeared one by one. Once he'd given Draco enough time to step from the fire at the other end, Dumbledore stepped into the fireplace and disappeared from Hogwarts. When he arrived back at The Leaky Cauldron, he was relieved to find everyone had made it home safely. Molly and Arthur were fussing over Harry and Ron, Ginny was welcoming Hermione back while the same thing was happening over the other side of the room with the Slytherins.

"Will school be open as normal in the New Year?" Arthur asked Dumbledore, once he spotted the Headmaster was back with them.

"We're going to have to wait and see," Dumbledore replied. "Hopefully once the storm has fully passed the staff can get up to Hogwarts. I'm confident if we all work together the place can be up and running sometime within the first couple of weeks of the New Year. Don't worry, I'll send owls informing parents of the relevant information."

After double checking that all six students were okay, Dumbledore left the back room of the London pub before his forgetfulness regarding the had students came to light. Once Dumbledore was gone, the Notts were the first to exit with a promise to attend the Malfoys New Year party the following evening.

"We should be going as well," Narcissa announced.

"Not yet," Draco told his mother. "Give me two minutes."

Leaving his parents, Draco made his way over to Hermione and quietly spoke to his girlfriend.

"What is going on there?" Ginny hissed to Harry and Ron as she watched Hermione smiling at the blond Slytherin.

"Hermione and Malfoy are together," Harry answered. "We found out over the holidays."

"Whoa, I never saw that one coming," Ginny said, watching wide-eyed as Draco took hold of Hermione's hand and led her over to where his parents were standing.

"Mother, Father, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Hermione," Draco said, aware that Harry and the Weasleys were watching their every move, as well as a smirking Blaise who was standing beside Narcissa.

"It's nice to meet you, Hermione," Narcissa smiled at the young girl who'd captured her son's heart. While she would have preferred her son to get involved with a pureblood, she was going to give Hermione a chance since Draco so clearly thought the world of her.

"You too, Mrs Malfoy," Hermione smiled back at the witch. "It's nice to meet you too, Mr Malfoy," She said, turning her attention to Lucius.

"I'm sure the pleasure is all ours Miss Granger," Lucius replied formally.

"Are you returning to the Manor with us?" Narcissa asked Hermione. "After all, you were invited for New Year and since that's tomorrow it seems pointless for you to leave and then have to arrange to come to us."

"I'd love to come back with you," Hermione said, breathing a huge sigh of relief that so far Draco's parents were been very welcoming.

"Hermione, you can't," Ron suddenly cried. "You're supposed to be coming back with us."

"I'm sorry Ron, but I was always going to spend New Year with Draco," Hermione told her friend as she turned round to gather her bag. "I'll see you all on the train back to Hogwarts."

"We'll just be a floo call away if you need us," Molly told Hermione. She wasn't sure about Hermione getting involved with a Malfoy, but it wasn't really her place to interfere in the young witch's life.

"I want all the details when we go back to school," Ginny whispered to Hermione as the two girls said goodbye.

"As long as we're not around," Harry chuckled, overhearing the pair as he moved to say his own goodbyes to Hermione. "We've seen and heard more than we ever needed to know over the last few weeks."

"Ooh, I sense juicy gossip," Ginny grinned.

Laughing at her friend's need for gossip, Hermione finished saying her goodbyes and turned back to her boyfriend and his family. Lucius explained that she could only enter the manor's boundaries alongside a Malfoy, and he offered his services to escort her to the manor. Hermione knew that Draco could have apparated her to his home, but not wanting to be rude she accepted Lucius's offer and tentatively took hold of his arm. As Lucius's hand closed over hers and gripped her firmly, she spotted Blaise taking hold of Narcissa's arm while Draco pulled out his wand. With a loud crack the three Malfoys disappeared simultaneously and seconds later they landed in the front hallway of the manor with their two guests in tow.

Narcissa immediately called for a House Elf and began issuing orders to the tiny creature. Hermione was surprised to find that even though Narcissa was issuing orders, she was still polite to the elf and several times she said please and thank you to the elf. Narcissa's orders consisted of telling the elf to make sure Blaise's guest room was ready, as well as sorting a guest room for Hermione.

"You don't need to do that," Draco told his mother as the elf disappeared with the bags. "Hermione can share with me, we're used to it."

"I don't care what you're used to at Hogwarts, under my room you'll not be sharing a room," Narcissa told her son, before she turned and headed towards the living room.

"As if that's going to stop me," Draco snorted, taking hold of Hermione's hand. "Just because you've got a guest room, doesn't mean you have to stay there all night."

"Maybe you should leave your plotting for later," Lucius suggested to his son. "If your Mother overhears you, she'll be charming the doors or something."

"Shouldn't you be charming the doors as well?" Blaise asked with a cheeky grin. "You're supposed to be a responsible adult, Lucius."

"I am," Lucius replied with a smirk. "I can also remember what it's like to be a seventeen year old boy with a beautiful girlfriend. And I know that separate rooms isn't going to make the slightest bit of difference to what shenanigans happen overnight."

Hermione was rather taken aback by the whole conversation that was going on around her. She was shocked by the change in Lucius now they were at the manor, in the privacy of his own home he was much more light-hearted and wasn't half as formidable as he usually was. Secondly, she was surprised by the joking way in which Blaise addressed Draco's father, it was obvious her boyfriend's best friend knew the Malfoys well and was completely at home around them. And thirdly, she was stunned that Lucius had implied she was beautiful and seemed to have no problems with his son sleeping with a muggleborn. Of course that might change once he realised how serious they were about each other, but for now he seemed rather accepting.

"I think we better head on into the living room before Narcissa comes calling for us," Lucius said. "I think it's time we got to know Hermione a bit better. And I want to know all about your adventures at Hogwarts. For a start, how did you all end up missing the train?"

"That's a good story," Blaise laughed, heading into the living room at Lucius's side.

Draco checked Hermione was alright and wasn't too overwhelmed, before the couple headed into the living room so they could try and keep Blaise from revealing too much about their experiences at Hogwarts, as well as Hermione getting to know Draco's parents a bit better.


	9. Malfoy Manor

**Malfoy Manor.**

Hermione was rather surprised by the warm welcome she received from the Malfoys on her first night at the manor. Even though Draco had reassured her his parents had promised to give her a chance and they wouldn't be nasty to her, she still hadn't been sure how the older couple would react to her presence. However both Lucius and Narcissa were nothing but friendly and welcoming towards her as they got to know their son's girlfriend. After a bit of initial awkwardness, conversation had flowed easily and both of Draco's parents seemed genuinely interested in finding out about Hermione's life.

It wasn't until during dinner that the New Year's Eve party was mentioned again, and Hermione suddenly remembered she didn't have anything to wear. She had intended to go shopping for a new outfit over the Christmas holidays, but with being stuck up at Hogwarts it hadn't been an option. However, when Hermione raised the subject of not having anything suitable to wear, Narcissa promised to sort her out. Hermione had no idea what Narcissa was planning to do about her outfit as the party was the following evening and she doubted they would have time to go to the shops.

It was Narcissa's promise that had her heading off upstairs with Draco's mother after breakfast on the morning of the party. Hermione had already discovered that the manor was every bit as large as Draco used to brag about in his younger days. Her boyfriend had an entire wing to himself, which was where both she and Blaise were staying in guest rooms until they went back to school. Hermione had soon discovered that Blaise's room wasn't just any old guest room, it was a room specially designed for him when he stayed at the manor, which sounded as though it was a regular occurrence. Hermione's room was a standard guest room, but after she'd had a look around the room Draco had dragged her off to spend the night in his room with him.

Narcissa took Hermione into another wing of the house, which Hermione was guessing was the wing where Draco's parents had their bedroom. Wandering through the labyrinth of corridors, Narcissa finally opened a door and announced they had arrived at their destination. Unsure of what to expect, Hermione entered the room. The room Narcissa had brought her to appeared to be a dressing room of some description. There was a large dressing table and several mirrors dotted around the room, as well as several chests of drawers and a couple of large wardrobes.

"This is where I keep the good clothes I no longer wear," Narcissa explained. "Initially I kept the clothes in case I ever had a daughter to pass them onto. Most of them are too expensive to just throw out, and most of them hold special memories of some sort."

Hermione nodded, but she still didn't understand why Narcissa had brought her to the room. Hermione's confusion was evident on her face, and Narcissa chuckled softly at the younger witch.

"I thought we could find you something to wear for the party in here," Narcissa explained to Hermione. "I've got a lot of dresses from my youth that might be suitable. I know styles have changed over the years, but I'm sure we can make some alterations."

"I don't want you to ruin your clothes by altering them for me," Hermione insisted.

"Nonsense, it'll be fun," Narcissa replied as she made her way over to one of the wardrobes and flung open the doors. "Besides, I always fancied myself as a bit of a fashion designer. I alter my clothes all the time. Sometimes I see something and think one small adjustment would make the outfit so much better, so I buy the outfit and alter it myself."

"I could never do anything like that," Hermione admitted. "Fashion isn't really my area of expertise."

"That's what I'm here for," Narcissa said. "Now come and have a look at some of these dresses."

Hermione stepped forward to have a look at the dresses Narcissa wanted to show her. Even though fashion wasn't a passion of hers, Hermione had to admit that the older witch had some stunning pieces. Of course that was to be expected as Narcissa still looked amazing and every time Hermione had seen her she was immaculately dressed.

After half an hour, Narcissa had picked out several dresses for Hermione to try on. As well as altering the style, Narcissa also mentioned they would adjust the sizes if it was necessary, although since Hermione had such a good figure it was more than likely only a small adjustment would be necessary.

Since Hermione wasn't sure what she should be looking for in a dress, she left the vast majority of the decisions to Narcissa. She just tried the dresses on and told Narcissa whether or not she was comfortable in them. The couple of times she'd mentioned not being entirely comfortable in an outfit, Narcissa had insisted she took it straight off. In Narcissa's opinion there was no point wearing anything you weren't comfortable in, if you did you wouldn't be able to relax and enjoy yourself.

Eventually the choices came down to two dresses. One was a sweeping emerald green evening gown, while the second was a strapless ice blue floor length slim line dress. Both of the dresses were stunning, and Hermione loved both of them.

"I suppose Draco would like the green with the Slytherin connections," Narcissa mused. "However, the ice blue one is very appropriate for the time of year and you do look amazing in it. Which one do you prefer?"

"I like them both," Hermione replied. "But I think I might prefer the blue one. I'm just not sure about it being strapless."

"Put it back on and let's see what we can do," Narcissa told the younger witch.

Once Hermione was back in the blue dress, Narcissa got to work on making the alterations. After sizing it to hug Hermione's curves perfectly, she created several thin diamond studded straps that crossed over Hermione's shoulders and the top of her back. She then created a split up the right leg of the dress that added a bit of sexiness to the number.

"Perfect," Narcissa said, smiling at the sight of the young witch in front of her. "I would suggest wearing your hair up tonight. Will you need any help with that?"

"If you don't mind, my curls can be a bit wild at times."

"It's no problem," Narcissa replied.

"Thank you very much Mrs Malfoy," Hermione said. "I appreciate how kind you're being to me."

"You sound surprised," Narcissa noted. "Were you expecting a different sort of reaction?"

"Honestly, yes," Hermione admitted. "Draco said you and Mr Malfoy would give me a chance, but I wasn't so sure since I'm a muggleborn and I know how you feel about muggleborns."

"I'm not going to lie to you Hermione. Draco's father and I would have preferred our son to get involved with a pureblood witch, but we would never force him into anything. I witnessed first-hand how forcing your beliefs on someone tears a family part. I lost my sister because she got involved with a muggleborn and my parents wouldn't allow it. I'm not going to do the same thing to my son."

"What about Mr Malfoy?" Hermione asked. "I'm sure he's not happy about Draco dating a muggleborn."

"As I said, it wouldn't our choice, but we're not going to interfere," Narcissa replied with a delicate shrug of her shoulders. "Lucius resented his father for telling him what to do all the time. Even marrying me was something his father forced him into doing, it was just fortunate that we got along and grew to love each other. Even so, Lucius's father's behaviour created a lot of bad feeling between the pair of them and they never really reconciled before Abraxas died. I know Lucius doesn't want the same to happen with him and Draco. If you're what Draco wants, then we're going to support him and be nice to you. Besides, you're a lovely girl and I happen to think you and Draco are particularly well suited."

"Thanks." Hermione blushed at Narcissa's compliment. "It means a lot that you're willing to accept me even though I'm not quite what you wanted for Draco."

"As long as you make him happy and don't break his heart, we'll have no problems," Narcissa said, giving Hermione a look that showed she wouldn't be happy if Draco ended up hurt. "Now back to the dress. Are you happy with it?"

"I love it," Hermione replied. "Thank you so much, it's amazing."

Narcissa nodded and as Hermione changed back into her normal clothes, Narcissa rummaged around for a pair of matching shoes. After checking the shoes fit Hermione and she was happy with them, Narcissa hung the outfit up ready for the party later on.

"I have to be going to get organised," Narcissa said as the two witches exited the room. "I'll be in your room at six to help you get ready."

"Do you need any help before then?" Hermione asked, offering her services.

"Everything's in hand," Narcissa replied, impressed by Hermione's selfless offer to help. "Why don't you go and find Draco and Blaise and spend the afternoon with them."

While Narcissa headed downstairs to ensure everything was okay with the party preparations, Hermione made her way to Draco's room. Draco had promised he and Blaise would be in his room so that Hermione could find them easily once she'd finished with Narcissa. When Hermione entered her boyfriend's bedroom she found Draco and Blaise lounging on the large king sized bed. A chess board was set up in between them, but they looked to be talking rather than playing.

"Did you get sorted?" Draco asked his girlfriend as she joined them on the bed.

"I did," Hermione nodded. "Your mother sorted me out a beautiful dress."

"Do I get to see it?" Draco questioned.

"Not until tonight," Hermione retorted with a smile.

"Is it sexy?" Draco asked.

"It used to be your mother's dress," Hermione replied. "It's one she had when she was younger."

"Then it'll be sexy," Blaise declared. "Narcissa is hot. Her dresses now are sexy, so I can only imagine how revealing her dresses from years ago are."

"Will you stop saying that," Draco scolded his friend. "It's very unnerving having your best friend constantly telling you that your mother is hot."

"I'm just stating facts," Blaise shrugged. "I know Theo would agree with me. We've both decided that if we were going for an older woman, than your mother would be the perfect choice. We'd both willingly shag her."

"Please stop, I'm begging you," Draco moaned.

"You should be used to this by now," Blaise laughed.

"I know, you started this when you were just thirteen," Draco muttered. "Your bloody hormones kicked in and you became a randy teenager."

"As if you weren't the same when you started noticing girls," Blaise snorted in response.

"The difference is, I don't ogle your mother," Draco shot back.

"She's hardly around to ogle, is she?" Blaise retorted, unperturbed by his mother's frequent absences from his life. "Besides my mother is nowhere near as hot as Narcissa. Face it Draco, you have a sexy mother."

"I'm just going to ignore you," Draco said to Blaise.

"If you keep this up, I'll be ignoring the pair of you," Hermione said with a chuckle. She actually found the whole thing quite amusing, but she didn't want it to turn into more serious bickering between the boys. "You don't need to argue over Narcissa, even if she is a very attractive woman."

"See, even Hermione agrees with me," Blaise grinned. "Narcissa is hot."

"I didn't say that. I said she was a very attractive woman," Hermione corrected. "I hope I still look that good when I'm her age."

"You will," Draco stated confidently as he shot his girlfriend a smile. "You'll be hot for years to come."

"Thanks," Hermione chuckled.

"Are you not going to return the compliment?" Draco asked his girlfriend with a fake pout. "I'm sure I'll still be hot in my old age."

"You will if you take after your father," Hermione replied, causing Blaise to let out a loud bark of laughter while Draco looked at her in horror.

"Are you saying you think my father is hot?" Draco questioned in disbelief.

Hermione smirked wickedly at her boyfriend and the look of horror on his face. "For an older wizard, he's quite nice."

"I don't believe this," Draco groaned, collapsing back on the bed and covering his face with his arm. "Both my best friend and my girlfriend drooling over my parents."

"Look on the bright side, at least you've got good genes," Blaise said through his laughter. "With Lucius and Narcissa as your parents, you were destined to be born with good looks. Whereas some of us were just very lucky to turn out this handsome."

"You're incorrigible, Blaise," Draco laughed, able to see the funny side of the situation with Blaise's light-hearted attitude towards things.

"It's a talent," Blaise grinned.

Hermione laughed at the two boys and their antics. Watching them together reminded her of Harry and Ron and the close friendship her two best friends shared. Blaise and Draco were very similar together and they almost seemed like brothers, not just best friends. Although considering how much time Blaise spent at the manor, they probably were more like brothers than friends.

Hermione remained in Draco's room with her boyfriend and his best friend until lunchtime. After having lunch downstairs with Lucius and Narcissa, Draco and Blaise took Hermione on a guided tour of the Manor, regaling her of stories of some of the things they'd gotten up to over the years. By the middle of the afternoon they were back in Draco's wing of the manor, where Hermione excused herself to go and start getting ready for the big New Year's Eve party that would be commencing in a few hours' time.


	10. New Year's Eve

**New Year's Eve.**

"Draco, sit down and stop the bloody pacing," Blaise said to his fidgety best friend as the pair waited for Hermione to arrive in Draco's room.

The trio had agreed to meet in Draco's room before heading downstairs to where the party was beginning to get into full swing. However, for some reason unknown to Blaise his best friend was a nervous wreck. Blaise was totally baffled by Draco's nerves as both Lucius and Narcissa seemed to like Hermione, so as far as he could see there was no problem.

"Why are you so nervous anyway?" Blaise questioned as Draco continued to pace the floor beside his bed.

"This is sort of our first date," Draco confessed.

"How can it be your first date?" Blaise frowned. "You've been together since the beginning of the school year."

"Yeah, but because we were initially keeping quiet about our relationship we haven't had a proper date," Draco explained. "We've snuck a few hours together in Hogsmeade and we've had a picnic outside in a secluded part of the grounds of Hogwarts, but the rest of the time we've spent in the Head Dorms."

"So you have had dates, just not dates when anyone has seen you together," Blaise corrected. "You're not worried about people seeing you with Hermione are you? Because Pansy and Daphne will be here tonight, and they don't know about your girlfriend."

"I'm not worried about people seeing us together," Draco reassured his friend. "I'm actually pleased that we've gone public and we don't have to worry about people seeing us together anymore. And because of how we spent the rest of the holidays, we don't even have to worry about someone spilling the beans to Hermione's friends when we go back to school."

"So, what's the problem then?" Blaise asked. "Why are you so nervous?"

"I just want Hermione to have a good time tonight," Draco said. "I don't want her to feel out of place or unwelcome in my world. I know this is very different from the life she normally leads, but this is my life and I want her to be a part of it."

"I want to be a part of it as well," Hermione's voice said from the doorway.

Draco whirled round to find Hermione standing in the doorway to his room. His girlfriend was wearing a figure hugging ice blue dress that had a tantalising split up the side and was low cut enough to give him a perfect view of her cleavage. Her brunette curls had been elegantly piled on top of her head, with just a few loose tendrils framing her face. She was also wearing the necklace and earring set he'd bought her for Christmas.

"Wow, you look amazing," Draco finally managed when he was able to find his voice.

"Thank you," Hermione smiled at her boyfriend. "You look really good yourself."

Draco was wearing the green shirt Hermione had bought him for Christmas with a pair of dark trousers. His hair was styled in its normal perfect way, with his blond strands expertly teased to give him a casual look.

"I think you look lovely, Hermione," Blaise said as he jumped off the bed. "And I was right, that dress is sexy."

"Thanks," Hermione chuckled at Blaise. "And you look pretty good, Blaise."

"Of course I do," Blaise replied with a smirk. "You have to look good if you want to have a gorgeous witch to kiss at midnight."

"Do you have anyone in particular in mind?" Hermione asked.

"Please do not say Mother," Draco muttered.

"Unfortunately, Narcissa isn't an option," Blaise replied regretfully. "I would definitely chance it if I thought I stood a chance, however your father never lets her out of his sights approaching midnight. I'll have to cruise the party and see who's around. I'm sure I'll find someone to kiss at midnight."

"I'm sure you will," Hermione said. She knew for a fact that a vast majority of the girls at Hogwarts would love to kiss Blaise, and probably at least half of them had already done so.

"Shall we go?" Draco asked.

Despite her growing nerves, Hermione nodded in agreement. Taking hold of Draco's hand, she let her boyfriend lead her from his bedroom towards the stairs. Blaise was with them until they reached the top of the stairs, but then he said his goodbyes and promising to catch up with them later he took off to join the party.

"Don't worry, I'll not leave your side," Draco promised, giving Hermione a quick kiss before they descended the stairs and made their way to the vast ballroom where the main body of the party was being held.

The ballroom was decorated like a stunning ice palace. The floors and walls all looked to be made from ice, but it was clearly elaborate glamour based magic. Icicles were hanging from the ceiling to complete the look and all the furniture looked to be carved from ice, which in most cases Hermione suspected was glass charmed to look more like ice. Against one wall stood a long table full of food and drink, which people could help themselves to. Soft music played throughout the room and there was ample space to dance. One of the ballroom doors that led to the garden was also standing open so people could pop outside for a bit of fresh air. Although of course there were charms in place to ensure the ballroom wasn't cold and Hermione was guessing there was similar charms on the garden so people didn't freeze if they ventured outdoors.

"Wow, this is amazing," Hermione said as she gazed about the room in awe. "Your mother certainly knows how to throw a party."

"Yes, she does," Draco agreed. "Do you want a drink or something first?"

"I think the first thing we need to do is deal with Pansy," Hermione said, spotting the raven haired Slytherin heading their way.

Draco quietly groaned at the thought of having to deal with Pansy so early in the evening, but by the time his friend reached his side he was wearing a welcoming smile. On a whole he and Pansy got along pretty well, but a brief fling a couple of years ago had left Pansy with a bit of a crush on him and Draco wasn't sure how she would react to discovering he was dating Hermione.

"Draco," Pansy cried, throwing her arms around her friend and giving him a hug. "We were so worried about you when you weren't on the train. How did you cope up at Hogwarts?"

"We managed," Draco answered as he expertly removed himself from Pansy's grip.

"It must have been awful stuck with three Gryffindors," Pansy said, grimacing at the thought of spending time with the Gryffindors her friends had been stuck with.

Draco frowned at Pansy's words and snuck a glance at Hermione, who just looked amused. It sounded as though Pansy hadn't noticed Hermione standing beside them, but Draco was confused as to how she could have missed his girlfriend.

"Pansy, you do realise we're not alone, don't you?" Draco asked tentatively.

"Of course I do," Pansy tutted at Draco before she turned to Hermione. "Sorry, I should have introduced myself before now, but I was just dying to catch up with Draco. I'm Pansy Parkinson, one of Draco's best friends."

While Draco was totally baffled by the situation, Hermione was silently laughing to herself. She knew she looked different in the gorgeous dress Narcissa had loaned her, not to mention the wonderful job Draco's mother had done on her hair and make-up, but she still didn't think she was completely unrecognisable.

"Hello Pansy," Hermione smiled at the other witch. "I'm Draco's girlfriend, Hermione Granger."

"Granger?" Pansy's eyes nearly popped out of her head when Hermione introduced herself. "Holy crap, it is you."

"Yes, it is," Hermione replied, unsure if Pansy was going to cause trouble.

Draco was also unsure if his friend was going to cause trouble, and instinctively he tightened his hold on Hermione's hand.

"How long have you two been together?" Pansy asked, her eyes flicking between the couple and their joined hands.

"Since the beginning of the school year," Draco answered. "We wanted to be sure we were serious before we told anyone."

"So you're serious," Pansy whispered quietly as she visibly struggled to keep her composure.

"We are," Draco confirmed. "I'm sorry Pansy, but you know I never felt that way about you."

"I know. I've always known." Pansy smiled regretfully at her friend. "I'm just happy to be your friend. And as your friend, I'm pleased you're happy. And I'm sorry I didn't recognise you," She added, turning to Hermione and giving her a sheepish smile. "Now I know, it's very obvious who you are, but I didn't expect to see you here."

"It's okay," Hermione told the other witch. "I'm sure I'm the last person you expected to see with Draco."

"You are," Pansy admitted. "But now you're with Draco, I just want you to know that'll you not have any trouble from me. Unless of course you hurt my friend, and in that case we'll be having words."

"I have no intention of hurting Draco," Hermione reassured Pansy. It was the second time that day someone had warned her not to hurt Draco, and she found herself pleased that her boyfriend had so many people around that loved him and wanted him to be happy.

"In that case, I'm sure we'll get along just fine," Pansy smiled, and Hermione could see she was genuine.

"Thanks Pans," Draco said, giving his friend a quick hug.

With the introductions and revelations out of the way, Pansy remained chatting with Draco and Hermione for quite a while as they filled her in on their holidays at Hogwarts. A few times Draco disappeared to go and mingle and greet the guests as a member of the family, but Hermione stayed with Pansy and was surprised to find the other girl seemed to bear her no ill will. It was very clear that Pansy did have romantic feelings for Draco, but Hermione was pleased she didn't let them affect the way she treated her. Pansy was nothing but polite the entire time they spoke and it didn't look as though she was going to be problematic once they returned to school.

After spending time with Pansy, Draco introduced Hermione to some family friends and distant family members. On their travels they briefly spoke to Theo and Blaise as well as Daphne Greengrass, who was surprised to see Hermione but was also perfectly nice and welcoming.

There were a couple of instances of people acting frostily towards Hermione when they discovered she was a muggleborn, but Draco always stuck up for her and whisked her away before any major insults came flying her way. Hermione was surprised to hear Lucius defending her presence at the party to an old friend of his who'd clearly been questioning why Draco was with a muggleborn. Hermione knew if she and Draco lasted and they continued their relationship the way they hoped to, that talk like what she'd heard would be common place. However, she knew that as long as she had Draco at her side and his family were behind them that they could face anything together, including the critics that thought they shouldn't be together.

By the time midnight was approaching the couple spotted Blaise getting friendly with a slightly older witch. Theo and Daphne seemed quite content together, while Pansy was being chatted up by a wizard from France who was a distant relative of Draco's. Hermione also noticed that Blaise was right about Lucius and from around eleven he hadn't let his wife out of his sight. With midnight fast approaching, Lucius had Narcissa wrapped firmly in his arms and the couple looked oblivious to everyone else around them.

Finding a peaceful spot beside the open door, Hermione and Draco counted down to the New Year together. As the clock struck midnight and the cheers rang around the room, the couple joined their lips together in a deep kiss.

"Happy New Year, Hermione," Draco smiled, slightly pulling back from his girlfriend.

"Happy New Year, Draco," Hermione returned with a bright smile.

As the celebrations continued in the ballroom the couple shared one more kiss before they slipped outside for a bit of fresh air. They were both hoping that now everyone knew about them that the year ahead would run smoothly, and they would still be together the following New Year and celebrating together once again. Although luckily for them, any celebrations wouldn't be following a few weeks trapped at Hogwarts.

**The End.**

* * *

**A/N – Thanks to everyone for their reviews/faves/follows. I appreciate every one of them and I want to thank everyone who has supported me with my writing.**

**I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'll be back in January with more stories, but for this year I'm finished.**


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